In an interview with Samet, Mohammad Zaman Jelvian, the manager of Pouya Energy Power Plant and Development Company, explained:
Why is Iran’s electricity industry facing a crisis, especially in the production sector?
Climatic problems on earth have faced the rulers of this planet with problems in providing energy carriers, providing energy carriers has become one of the most important challenges in most countries in order to overcome the cold of winter and the heat of summer.
This problem is more apparent in Iran due to the four seasons and the need for electricity and gas in different seasons, but with proper management, it is possible to optimally use the cold of the Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges to the scorching heat of the Lut desert, in this regard, within a few years. Recently, the discussion regarding environmental measures and the supply of energy carriers, especially clean electricity through the environment, has become more visible than before, therefore one of the effective measures in this regard will be the production of electricity through renewable energies.
Unfortunately, in our country, due to the high consumption of energy carriers, especially in electricity, the country is facing numerous crises in this regard, from household electricity to office and industrial electricity, and… from the lack of proper culture that By the way, one of the effective measures to provide electricity in the country is the use of renewable energy capacity.
It should be kept in mind that taking steps in the field of renewable energy and supporting the groups active in this sector will be like planting a sapling that once became a tall cedar and its benefits will be used, regarding the groups active in the field of energy supply. renewable energy for industrial use, we arranged an interview with engineer Mohammad Zaman Javelan, the CEO of Pouya Energy Production and Development Power Plant, one of the largest active groups in this field, which you can read below:
Engineer Mohammad Zaman Jelvian, CEO of Poya Energy Production and Development Company explained regarding the recent actions of the group:
As a power plant holding company, we are trying to play a role in the value chain of the country’s mining industries by providing clean and sustainable energy.
We are proud to provide engineering services, construction and operation of various power plants, including combined cycle, solar and other renewable power plants, along with increasing profitability, taking small steps in the direction of increasing the gross national product and improving the environment and prosperity of our beloved country.
According to Article 16 of the Law on Jumping Knowledge-Based Production approved by the Islamic Council on 02/31/1401, “In line with the development of knowledge-based industries related to renewable energies and the development of the market for these industries and the production of clean electricity at the point of consumption, industries with consumption power greater than One megawatt is required to provide the equivalent of one percent (1%) of its annual electricity needs through the construction of renewable power plants, and this amount will reach at least five percent (5%) at the end of the fifth year (1406). Therefore, according to the strategies of the investment company Development of mines and metals and according to the defined projects and existing costs, it is expected that the investment company for the development of mines and metals should build 125 megawatts of renewable power plants in this regard, the following projects in the holding Energy dynamics are defined as:
Projects in progress
Construction of two blocks of the steam section of Semnan power plant for the amount of 304 million euros
Implementation of the 14 MW solar project next to the land of Poyai 2 Semnan solar power plant
Implementation of the 16 MW solar power plant project in Sangsar Semnan city
Implementation of the 40 MW solar power plant project in Kermanshah city
Implementation of 150 MW combined cycle power plant project in Kermanshah city
Implementation of the 10 MW solar power plant project in Bijar city
Construction of a solar power plant on the coast of Makran for the simultaneous production of electricity and hydrogen
Regarding the coordinates and specifications of Iran’s electricity network, he added:
The capacity of Iran’s electricity network is now about 92,841 MW and the country’s electricity consumption in 1402 was about 389.2TWh, the installed capacity is about 1.07% of the world’s installed capacity (8643GW) and the energy consumption is about 1.34% of the world’s energy consumption of 29,734TWh per year. It is 2023 (of which 8959TWh is renewable energy and 2741TWh is atomic energy) and the world’s total energy consumption in 2022 (electricity, oil, gas, coal, etc.) is equal to 122,780TWh.
Total final energy consumption (TFC) today is 442 EJ and is divided between industry 167 EJ, buildings 133 EJ, transportation 116 EJ and other final uses 27 EJ
Electricity plays a key role in the modern economy. With the sustainable development of the global economy and the improvement of electricity supply, especially the development of the digital economy and the increase in the share of electricity in transportation, the proportion of electricity consumption in energy demand will increase even more. Since 1974, global electricity consumption has grown by more than 3.3% annually (2019IEA projects global demand for electricity to grow by 2.2% in 2023, down from the 2.4% growth seen in 2022). Global electricity demand is expected to grow faster in the next three years, growing at an average annual rate of 3.4% through 2026. Estimates show that global electricity demand will increase by 2.1% annually in the years 2108 to 2040.
The analysis of the statistics presented on the world electricity consumption in 2021 shows that China with a share of 31% of electricity consumption and America with a share of 16% of the world’s electricity consumption will account for nearly half of the world’s electricity consumption in 2021. Iran ranks 12th with a share of 1.2% of the world’s electricity consumption. The countries of Saudi Arabia with a share of 1.3% and France with a share of 1.8% are in the 11th and 10th places.
The highest electricity consumption in the world in 2021.
With an annual growth of 6.03% in electricity consumption in the mentioned period, Iran ranks 4th in the world with the highest electricity consumption. With an average annual growth of 9% in electricity consumption, China has had the highest growth in electricity consumption in the period (1990-2021). The countries of India and South Korea are in the next ranks with the highest annual growth in electricity consumption. The average annual growth of electricity consumption in the world is 2.93%; That is, the annual growth of electricity consumption in Iran has been more than 2 times the average growth of electricity consumption in the world. The distribution of electricity consumption in the country is as follows: 36.3% is industry, 31.4% is domestic, 14.2% is agriculture, and 18.2% is general, commercial and lighting.
By comparing the price of industrial electricity with household electricity in major economies of the world, Engineer Jelvian added:
In China, the price of household electricity in 2023 is about 0.088 CNY per kWh, while the price of industrial electricity is about 0.064 CNY per kWh in the same year. This means that the price of industrial electricity in China was about 25% lower than the price of household electricity.
In the United States, the price of industrial electricity in 2023 was about $0.064 per kilowatt-hour, while the price of household electricity was about $0.136 per kilowatt-hour in the same year. This means that the price of industrial electricity in America was about 50% lower than the price of household electricity.
In Germany, according to the Destatis report, the average price of household electricity in 2023 was about 0.319 euros per kilowatt hour. This price has increased by 40% compared to last year.
Important challenges of the electricity industry: There is a complex and multi-dimensional discussion about why the electricity industry, especially in the production sector, has suffered such crises today. The main issue comes back to our attitude towards electricity, whether electricity is a social service or a commercial (economic) commodity?
The imbalance of the electricity economy and the mandated and unrealistic nature of electricity prices, the lack of justification for investment in the field of electricity production and therefore the lack of investment in infrastructure and as a result the deficit or imbalance of electricity production, non-payment of claims, the pressure of sanctions, exchange rate fluctuations, the rentier economy, It has destroyed the motivation of the private sector to invest in the electricity industry. Drought and the impossibility of using some hydropower plants, rising temperatures and rising electricity consumption and reasons such as the early entry of agricultural wells into the electricity demand market due to the heat of the air and the need for more water in farms and the phenomenon of cryptocurrency mining are the reasons that cause a sharp increase in consumption. Electricity and the balance of electricity production and consumption have been disturbed.
Debts and lack of resources to complete the half-finished projects of the electricity industry, low prices and a large gap between the incomes and costs of the electricity industry are considered to be the main factors in not achieving the goals of the development programs. The cheap price of electricity has caused the debt of this ministry to contractors to increase day by day. Debt has become the main problem of the Ministry of Energy since about 20 years ago.
The capital-intensiveness of the electricity industry on the one hand, along with the suppression of prices and the reduction of internal resources of this industry and the limitation of the power of the country’s money market to finance large projects, on the other hand, have made financing one of the most important challenges of the electricity industry. These problems caused that in the third and fourth program of economic, social and cultural development, emphasizing the 44th principle of the constitution, government tenure was reduced and the use of the financial and managerial power of the private sector increased.
The conducted investigations show that the problems of the energy sector and the electricity industry have been identified to an acceptable extent. On the other hand, at least at the first level, there is a relatively comprehensive consensus on the solution of these issues. However, instead of using and solving these problems, during the last few decades, a significant part of these problems are still carried over time.
The deficit or unbalance of Iran’s electricity in the summer of 1403 has reached 18 thousand megawatts, and with this trend of investment in the electricity industry, most likely, this amount of imbalance will reach more than 18 thousand megawatts in 1404, and this indicates the necessity of the industries themselves. Electricity supply.
In the realization of the development plans of each country, energy and in particular, electric energy plays a decisive and central role.
Expanding the share of the digital economy in the national economy strengthens and intensifies this dependence.
The investigations carried out show that the problems of the energy sector and the electricity industry have been identified to an acceptable extent. On the other hand, at least at the first level, there is a relatively comprehensive consensus on the solution of these issues. However, instead of applying and solving these problems, during the last few decades, a considerable part of these problems are still carried over time.
Mother and big industries that use electric energy for their effective role in the country’s GDP and cannot bear the effect of power outages on the high costs of their non-profit, need a stable energy portfolio that has a guarantee of non-interruption.
The main reason for the presence of investors in the electricity industry is the costs of non-profit due to blackouts. The value of the lost load (VOLL) in the world for each kilowatt-hour is about one hundred times the selling price of electricity, which is currently about 7.5 dollars in the world. The added value of the electricity sector in the country’s economy was less than 2%. However, Ali Despite the negligible contribution of the added value of electricity to the gross national product, the realization of the added value of other sectors is seriously dependent on electric energy.
Regarding the share of renewable energies in the country, he said: the trend of investment in renewable power plants and their installed capacity and comparison with fossil power plants in the world shows that in 2023, more than 83% of the new installed capacity of electric energy in the world , of the new type.