Pezeshkian urges removal of barriers for energy investors
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday urged the removal of barriers to the advancement of investors in producing clean energy and using new technologies in the realm of power generation.
In a meeting, titled ‘Reviewing Solutions to Address Power Shortages and Developing Renewable Power Plants’, he noted that all necessary permits should be issued and made available to the active private sector in energy field before upcoming peak days for electricity, IRNA reported.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Pezeshkian, with the presence of Minister of Energy Abbas Aliabadi, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Abdolnaser Hemmati, Head of the Plan and Budget Organization Hamid Pourmohammadi, and a number of active managers in the private sector and investors in the field of construction of power plants.
The president, appreciating the efforts of the minister of energy, added that it is necessary to first address the problems of private companies that need loans and supports to complete their projects in the field.
Pezeshkian also emphasized that for the permits issued, an appropriate time limit should be set and if no activity takes place within the specified time, the issued permits should be revoked. “It has been observed that some investors obtain permits in certain economic sectors, but after a few years, they do not do any work,” he added.
The president called on the private sector to present their proposals for the implementation of energy production projects, especially clean energy projects, as soon as possible. “Due to the importance of resolving shortages in the energy sector, in the coming days we will hold another session to follow up on these issues, and the proposals presented in that session will be reviewed,” Pezeshkian stated.
In the meeting, Aliabadi presented a report on the current level of electricity production in Iran compared to the years after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. He added, “In 1979, our electricity production was 7,000 MW, and now it has reached 93,000 MW. The length of electricity transmission lines has also increased from 81,000 kilometers at the time to 980,000 kilometers at present.”
Several private sector executives and active investors in the manufacturing of solar and wind power plants were also present at the session and discussed the problems and the solutions for the electricity production and construction of solar and wind power plants.
The key issues they raised were “problems occurred due to the determination of electricity fee by the Ministry of Energy, barriers to the issuance of electricity export permits during off-peak hours,” and “the acceleration of granting credits.”