According to Gholamreza Mehrdad, the manager of generation technical support at Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, the overhaul program is expected to be finished by May 20, IRNA reported.

The annual overhaul program starts every year in early September and will continue until late May in the following year, the official said.

“A total of 674 short- and long-term repair operations are anticipated to be carried out on a total 97,800 MW capacity of power plants, of which the operations for 46,700 MW were currently executed or are in progress,” Mehrdad explained.

As reported, so far 48 percent of the program has been carried out.

Over two-thirds of Iran’s thermal power plants are owned and operated by the country’s private sector and private owners are currently generating nearly 67 percent of Iran’s thermal power.

Currently, a total of 478 thermal power plants are operating throughout Iran which includes both gas-fired power plants and combined-cycle power plants in various provinces active in the production of electricity by this kind of technology.