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plant capacity would likely begin in the next Persian year. Projects would be financed with foreign investment, domestic financing, government resources and the acquisition of fixed assets, he said. An executive funding plan is to be prepared by the AEOI in cooperation with the Planning and Budgetary Organization (PBO) and the Ministry of Finance and Economy. The status of US sanctions applied to Iran will clearly be a consideration where foreign funding is concerned.
Iran’s nuclear industry, which started making a name for itself in the 1970s, remains under the scrutiny of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the major powers concerned that the Iranians keep it entirely civilian, something Tehran insists it is committed to ensuring.
Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian said in November that his ministry was pursuing an electricity provisioning programme to add 30,000 MW to Iran’s generating capacity by the end of the current government's term, which will come in August 2025. Some 21 power plant units would be brought into operation nationwide during the upcoming Persian year, he told parliament.
9.1.12 Utilities sector news
Hundreds take to streets in Hamedan, Iran to protest over complete halt in water supplies
Plant launch makes Iran player in geothermal power
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in the western Iranian city of Hamedan to demonstrate over a complete halt in water supplies that has lasted several days, Radio Farda reported on August 24.
Unverified social media video footage featured protesters labelling officials “incompetent” amid a water crisis that has intensified in the summer heat. Protests over water scarcity in Iran have become quite commonplace in the past two or three years, with the impacts of climate change combining with questionable water management to leave many regions exposed to a severe lack of water, especially given persistent drought that is afflicting the country. In June, Abadan, in southwestern Iran, recorded one of the hottest days on Earth since records began, registering 52.2°C (126°F).
Water difficulties and associated protests have also been seen in locations such as Shahrekord in central Iran and Hamedan in western Iran in recent weeks. The governor of Hamedan came under fire for not rationing water in order to prevent a crisis. He blamed energy ministry officials for rejecting rationing.
The Iranian Meteorological Organisation has calculated that 97% of the country is experiencing drought to some degree, RFE/RL reported.
Officials who have encouraged water “thirsty” rice farming in parts of the country exposed to water scarcity are among other government representatives who have felt the fury of Iranians left with dry taps.
Flash floods, meanwhile, which can quickly form on parched, bone-dry ground caused by heatwaves, have claimed the lives of scores of people in Iran this summer.
Another difficulty for Iran is that water shortages can lead to hydroelectricity shortages and subsequnt power blackouts.
Iran has reportedly become a player in the production of geothermal power.
With power lines now in place, the Sabalan plant located near the inactive Sabalan conical stratovolcano, near Meshgin Shahr in the far northwestern province of Ardabil, has gone into operation, delivering electricity to the grid, according to the CEO of Ardabil Province Electricity Distribution Company, as cited by ISNA.
“The last stage of the implementation of electricity transmission lines running
71 IRAN Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com