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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
In 1963 the Iranian government created a hydroelectric
management authority. Its functions were incorporated into the
Ministry of Water and Power in 1967. The electric power industry
had been nationalized in 1965 so that a large, integrated system
might be built. In 1967 all water resources were nationalized
except generators attached to industrial plants
(see Water
, this
ch.).
The Fourth Development Plan (1968-73) ushered in a new phase of
utility development designed to add 4,915 million cubic meters of
storage capacity for water, which in turn would generate
electricity. Projects designed under this program were completed
after the Revolution; they included dam projects in Halil Rud
(Jiroft), Shahrud (Taleghan), Lar, Minab, and Qeshlaq.
By 1972, about one-quarter of the population had electricity,
and approximately 3,218 kilometers of transmission and distribution
lines had been constructed as the start of a national system. Two
smaller, separate networks were centered on Kerman in the south
central area and Mashhad in the northeast.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, the rapid growth of
manufacturing, increasing urbanization, and the extension of
electrical service to more of the population put great pressure on
planners to build ahead of demand. They did not always succeed,
even with extensive foreign advice. For example, industrial
development was temporarily held up in the vicinity of Bandar-e
Abbas because of insufficient power, and by mid-1977 brownouts and
blackouts were frequently disrupting industry. Nevertheless, many
experts favored building a network with large, interconnected power
stations rather than the more costly and inefficient construction
of separate facilities to head off each impending local shortage.
The near doubling of investment goals for the fifth plan compounded
the problem of keeping the power supply ahead of demand, however,
for it meant a substantial increase in the number of industrial
consumers.
In the 1980s, the government began to emphasize the development
of steam-powered plants, as part of a plan to reduce hydroelectric
power from 25 percent to 10 percent of available national energy by
the end of the century. Reversing this policy in the mid-1980s,
Minister of Energy Mohammad Taqi Banki stated that hydroelectric
power had once again been given priority for reasons of
environmental safety and higher productivity.
By the end of 1986, 17 dams were operating with a total energy
generation capacity of 7,000 megawatts, a 10-percent increase over
1985. Construction on the Qom River of a US$130 million dam with a
200- million-cubic-meter capacity was scheduled to begin in
December 1986. It would supply the northern city of Qom, seventy
kilometers away, with drinking and irrigation water. A
three-megawatt power station was planned nearby. A feasibility
study for a US$1 billion hydroelectric dam on the Karun River was
submitted in early 1987. This dam, which would take 6 years to
build, would generate 800 megawatts of electricity and replace 2
other proposed dams.
Iran's total electric power capacity was approximately 12
million kilowatts in 1985, the most recent year for which
statistics were available in 1987. It produced almost 42 billion
kilowatt-hours in 1985, compared with 33 billion kilowatt-hours in
1983. In the FY 1987 budget, the Ministry of Water and Power was
authorized to raise electricity rates for consumers who used more
than 250 kilowatts, with a further increase for those using more
than 400 kilowatts, in order to boost revenues by US$830.4 million.
The national supply of electricity dropped 40 percent in early
1986 because of Iraqi bombing of power plants. The minister of
energy announced that the shortages began in January because of
severe gas shortages at the Esfah power plants in Rey, Lowshan,
Rasht, and several other locations. Again, in December 1986, the
minister of energy announced impending power cuts as a result of
shortfalls in generation.
Iranian officials had earlier opted for nuclear power plants to
meet part of the demand for electricity, entering into discussions
with representatives from West Germany and France. The plants under
consideration were pressurized water reactors using enriched
uranium. They were to be built near the Persian Gulf because of the
need for large quantities of water for cooling. The decision in
favor of nuclear power stemmed from policy decisions to develop
non-oil energy sources.
Nuclear power was not abandoned in the 1980s. The Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran, set up in 1973 to produce nuclear energy for
electricity needs, focused in 1987 on the exploration and use of
uranium deposits and on the use of nuclear energy in industry,
agriculture, and medicine. The construction of the nuclear power
plant in Bushehr ceased in 1982 as a result of a fire in the plant;
additional damage stemmed from three Iraqi attacks in 1985 and
1986. In 1987 an Argentine-Spanish firm was negotiating to finish
construction of the nuclear power plant. Designed to have two
1,200-megawatt reactors, it was expected to take 3 years to
complete.
Laborers weigh and process jute in a small mill
Courtesy United States Information Agency
Data as of December 1987
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