Speaking to ILNA, Al-e Eshaq said energy ministry should talk with Iraqi officials for return of its money for the sales of electricity to get favorable result, adding that the ministry does not accept goods instead of money and it insists on getting its money in cash. He noted that Iran’s frozen money in Iraq is estimated at between 5 to 7 billion dollars and the total amount of sold gas to Iraq by the energy ministry has been on the basis of dollar.

On the release of the frozen money from Iraq, he said Iraq owes Iran some certain amount of money which it has delayed in repayingt because of some conditions and it seems this country is currently less under pressure for repaying Iran’s debts and the talks between the two countries are bearing fruits. Therefor Iraq will pay major part of Iran’s money, he noted.

He noted that Iraqis had financial problem and been under the U.S. pressures which hindered  paying their debts and currently the political pressures have reduced, and on the whole the country is now in a condition that it can pay major part of Iran’s debts.

Al-e Eshaq added that on how the money is being paid, the energy ministry should talk with Iraqi officials to get results. He reiterated that energy ministry does not accept goods in exchange for its money and it insists on getting cash.

He noted currently no deadline has been set for the return of money and Iran does not want to put Baghdad under pressure for repaying its money and by the way Iraq is not the country dodging from repaying its debts to Iraq.

He also refuted reports on Iran’s cutting electricity supply to Iraq, adding that Iraq is in dire need of Iran’s electricity and Iran has no reason to cut the power supply.

Al-e Eshaq also reacted to the proposal for the launch of economic union between Iran, Turkey and Iraq and said if it happens, it will have great positive impacts but this needs a strong determination by all parties.

On Monday it was reported a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity has said  his country is ready to pay back its debt for imports of gas and electricity to Iran.

“The Ministry of Electricity is ready to pay back its debts to Iran based on the agreement of the delegations that previously visited Tehran. They money is a weight on our shoulders that we have to pay to Iran,” Ahmed Musa told Baghdad al-Yawm news agency.

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Speaking in a meeting of the country’s Supreme Water Council Mehrabian said: “10 percent savings in the domestic sector will save 500 to 600 million cubic meters of water per year, while this figure in the agricultural sector will be 1.5 billion cubic meters.”

Pointing out that the agricultural sector is the largest water-consuming sector in the country, accounting for 90 percent of the total water consumption, he said: “Improving the cultivation pattern, using new irrigation methods and increasing water efficiency in the agricultural sector are the most important programs for managing water resources in the country.”

Noting that the supply of drinking water is also a priority for the Energy Ministry, Mehrabian said: “We will provide drinking water through various methods, including the management of reservoirs and the use of wells, but in the consumption sector, the saving will be very important since reducing consumption will consequently reduce the stress imposed on water resources.”

The official pointed out that 14 resolutions were put on the agenda at the meeting of the Supreme Water Council and said: “This year, water resources are in a very difficult position because we have had a 50 percent decrease in rainfall compared to last year and a 37 percent decrease in rainfall compared to the average figure for the past 50 years.”

He noted that according to the forecast of the Iran Meteorological Organization, this fall the amount of rainfall will be 20 to 30 percent less than normal, adding: “We are trying to provide the required water by managing consumption and demand.”

According to the World Meteorological Organization’s multiannual forecast, in the next five years, Iran’s average rainfall will decline by 75 percent, and the temperature rises by 50-75 percent compared to the long-term average.

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The MOU was signed by Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin and Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian in Tehran on Monday, IRIB reported.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mehrabian noted that these power plants will be built to meet the needs of industrial sectors and according to the signed MOU, industries will meet their electricity needs through them and the surplus power will be injected into the national grid.

The minister stated that the country is currently facing 14,000 MW of electricity shortage, adding: “This figure equals 22 percent of the country’s total electricity demand, which we cannot provide in various sectors including domestic, industrial, administration and agricultural areas.”

Pointing out that the construction of these power plants will be operational in the near future, Mehrabian said: “Our industries haven’t been able to fully implement their development plans due to lack of electricity. We hope to see good cooperation between the two ministries and thus create prosperity in near future.”

He said that one of the plans of the Energy Ministry is to increase the capacity of the country’s power plants in proportion to the demand.

“We plan to construct 35,000 MW of power plants in various fields, of which 15,000 MW will be combined cycle and steam power plants established by the Energy Ministry and the private sector, while the other 10,000 MW will be renewable power plants,” the official added.

Stating that several investors have expressed readiness to build renewable power plants, Mehrabian said: “Iran has a high capacity for the construction of renewable power plants and having 300 sunny days during the year, several projects can be implemented in the solar energy sector.”

Back in July, Deputy Industry Minister Saeed Zarandi had said that the mentioned power plants are financed by 12 investors from various industrial sectors and will be constructed within 2.5-3 years.

According to Zarandi, the said power plants will be constructed in Isfahan, Hormozgan, Markazi, Yazd, Kerman, Fars, Semnan, and Khuzestan provinces.

One of the main goals of this program is to provide reliable and sustainable electricity to high-consuming industries and the country’s industrial parks in order to reduce the pressure imposed on the national grid in the industry and mining sector, Zarandi had explained.

EF/MA

Photo: Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin (R) and Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian sign MOU documents in Tehran on Monday.

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The ceremony was attended by officials and managers from the Energy Ministry, energy-related companies and subsidiaries of the Energy Ministry as well as training institutions, IRIB reported.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Saleh-Olia referred to the need for developing information systems based on modern technology for scientific analysis in various fields of human resources, including training, and said: “Access to real statistics and information requires precise planning based on reality rather than speculation, and there are several benefits to using new ways of providing services over the Internet.”

Saleh-Olia noted that using the new system will create great positive changes in the industry, the benefits of which will become tangible in near future.

Also in the ceremony, the Chairman of the Training and Vocational Qualification Center of Power and Water Mohammadreza Fadaei Tehrani emphasized the significant role of the Energy Ministry in maximizing the benefits of information technology in creating accurate, realistic, and up-to-date reports and for implementing training courses and issuance of electronic certification in a unified form.

As reported, the comprehensive system of “Training and assessment of water and electricity industry” has been established with the aim of providing online educational services, creating a community of water and electricity teachers, updating educational content, unifying training procedures, and benefiting from various service providers inside and outside the Energy Ministry.

The system is also going to accelerate the issuance of electronic certificates to reduce the cost of training services and to improve the quality and effectiveness of training at the Training and Vocational Qualification Center of Power and Water.

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“The electricity supply to these organizations was cut off since they have had previously received warnings for violating the consumption ceiling and the criteria set by the ministry,” Mashahdi said.

According to the official, Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry, Bank Mellat, Cooperative Foundation, and the State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties were the organizations whose power supply was cut off.

Earlier this month, Managing Director of Tehran Electricity Distribution Company Hassan Sabouri had announced that a group of 2,500 supervisors has been tasked to monitor the electricity consumption in government entities during the peak consumption period in order to report any misuse back to the governor to be pursued.

In the past decade, constant temperature rising and the significant decrease of rainfalls across Iran have put the country in a hard situation regarding electricity supply during peak consumption periods.

In this regard, the Energy Ministry has been following new strategies in recent years to manage the consumption and lessen the electricity losses in the national grid.

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Considering the weather forecasts suggesting that the scene is set for heavy rainfalls in some parts of Iran in the coming weeks, the necessary preparations have been made to handle the aftermath of the floods, Iranian Energy Minister said on Sunday.

He said given the experience of flash floods that occurred in spring 2019, the Energy Ministry has made efforts to manage the conditions of the dams more carefully. “At present, 40 percent of the 50 billion cubic meter capacity of the country’s dams is empty, which means enough capacity to receive spring floods.”

The minister called on people to avoid staying in areas near the banks of rivers within the next couple of weeks, saying the ministry is trying to get the most out of the possible floodwaters and to get through a possible natural disaster with minimum damages.

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