TEHRAN – Iran’s thermal power plants generated more than 80 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21) to play a significant role in the country’s electricity supply in the mentioned period.According to Naser Eskandari, a deputy with the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH), combined cycle power plants accounted for 55 percent of the total power generation by the country’s thermal power plants in the mentioned period.As IRNA reported, the output of combined cycle power plants reached 44 million MWh in Q1 this year, registering a four percent increase, year on year.Also, the share of gas units in electricity production in the first quarter of this year was 18 million MWh while the share of steam units was 18 million MWh, Eskandari said.“With the addition of eight new steam units in the power plants of West Karun, Asaluyeh, Ferdowsi, Khorramabad, Sabalan, South Pars, and Urmia last year, we have witnessed a jump in the production of combined cycle power plants this spring,” the official added.According to Eskandari, converting gas power plants to combined cycle plants is one of the best ways to improve the efficiency of thermal power plants in the country; this method is very effective not only for the electricity industry but also for the environment and for saving fuel consumption.The capacity of Iran’s thermal power plants increased by 1,035 megawatts (MW) in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).Esmaeil Namazi, the director-general of TPPH’s technical office for production, said during the year 1401, in addition to the construction of new power plant units, the thermal power industry had put on the agenda the program of increasing the power generation capacity of the existing power plants.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 power plants and combined cycle plants.Iran’s total power generation capacity currently stands at about 85,000 MW, more than 90 percent of which is supplied by thermal power plants.EF/MA