Iran has considerably increased power exports to seven neighboring in recent years, Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Fallahatian announced on Monday.
"Iran currently exports electricity to seven neighboring countries and it supplies 12 billion kilowatt/hours to the neighboring countries while it imports 4 billion kilowatt/hours per year," Fallahatian told reporters.
He reiterated that Iran gains between $900 million to $1 billion per year from its power exports to the neighboring countries.
Earlier today, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Energy Commission Ali Marvi announced that Iran plans to considerably increase the output of its power plants next year.
"A sum of 15 percent of the Middle East's electricity output will belong to Iran by 2015," Marvi said, addressing the 29th International Electricity Conference in Tehran.
He noted that the power sector now has Iran's most important infrastructural industry with a crucial role in the country's industrial development.
Iran has constructed power plants twice as many as the average number of power plants constructed in the world during the past decade.
The power generation capacity in Iran has grown by 7 percent annually during the past 10 years.
Iran currently swaps power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan (including Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.
Iran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments for the construction of three new power plants.