Localization Helps Cut Power Plant Repair Costs, Duration

EghtesadOnline: Close to 200 parts used in Ramin Power Plant in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, have been repaired by technicians of the power station in the spring, managing director of the plant said.

News ID: ۷۸۶۷۰۳

17 July 2021

“In the first quarter of the current Iranian year [March 21-June 21], a total of 197 parts and equipment were repaired by domestic engineers,” ISNA also quoted Khalil Mohammadi as saying.

By using local experts and indigenized know-how, maintenance costs and the time it takes to repair the equipment decline, he added.

The official noted that at present, Ramin Power Plant is working at full capacity, as all its six units are operational with a total production capacity of 1,850 megawatts.

Mohammadi said the plant is now generating sustainable electricity to support the national grid in the current hot summer, as many of its required parts are designed, produced and repaired by its experienced employees.

Iranian engineers have indigenized and manufactured over 2,000 parts used in Ramin Power Plant, including ejector shafts, cooling tower gearbox shafts and chlorination pump shafts.

Located 20 km northeast of Ahvaz on the bank of Karoun River, Ramin Plant is a thermal power station with six gas units.

As import of spare parts and equipment is limited due to the US economic siege, indigenization has become a top priority for key sectors.

Many thermal power plants in Iran have long outlived their usefulness. Power stations built more than half a century ago are still in service largely due to the government’s inability to replace them due to the US economic war and difficult economic conditions.

US ex-president, Donald Trump, imposed tough economic sanctions (literally an economic blockade) after unilaterally withdrawing the United States from the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May 2018. The sanctions, particularly on the energy, banking, insurance and shipping sectors, have barred international companies from trading with Iran.

Although sanctions have troubled different sections of the country, they acted as a motivation for local producers to become independent of foreign products.

Today, domestic companies manufacture more than 20,000 components used in power plants, which have been approved by the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.

In addition to upholding national standards, parts are also sent to international institutions for tests and verification.

Thermal plants account for 80% of total power output (85 gigawatts) in the country of 83 million people.