Iran to launch electricity bourse

Iran’s deputy energy minister in electricity and energy affairs says the Iranian electricity bourse will be launched next week.

Mohammad Behzad told IRNA that, based on an agreement between the energy ministry and Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran, the electricity bourse will be officially inaugurated next week.

The official noted that the average price of each kilowatt of electricity is 450 rials (around 5 cents) during the first phase of the Subsidy Reform Law, which is not the final price for generating electricity in the country.

“The average final price of each kilowatt of electricity will be 1000 rials (around 10 cents) in 2015. People will only pay for 45 percent of the final price of electricity in the first phase of the Subsidy Reform Law and the government will pay 55 percent of the final price as subsidy,” he stated.

Behzad has said that he believes the global prices of electricity will increase within the next five years.

“We intend to increase the efficiency of power plants and reduce wastage of electricity in the national grid so that the final price of electricity in the country would be compatible with the global rate,” he concluded.

Earlier in December, Iran’s Energy Ministry announced that the country’s electricity exports to neighboring states climbed by more than 6 percent while its imports soared up by over 40 percent.

Iran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has reportedly attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments to build three new power plants.