Iran's energy minister says 1,000 MW of new power capacity came online last week, with 400 MW more to follow

Iranian Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said on the evening of Monday, August 3, 2026, at a meeting of water and power industry managers in Zanjan province that 1,000 MW of new generating capacity came online last week, and that roughly 400 MW more will join the grid by the end of this week and next, including about 300 MW in the coming days and a further 100 MW after that.

He said the expansion of the power industry has continued despite problems caused by the war and damage to some infrastructure. Aliabadi also said no budget has been allocated to the energy ministry since the start of this Iranian year because of the country's circumstances and financial constraints, but that project work has not stopped even as debts and contractor claims have risen.

The added generating capacity at the peak of summer demand, coming alongside the one-day-a-week power restriction on industrial estates, bears directly on the electricity available to energy-intensive industries.