How big is Iran's transmission network?

OverWatts maps 37,700 km of transmission line in Iran, across 3,238 segments, plus 24 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.

What voltage is Iran's grid?

Most of the mapped network is extra-high voltage (380–764 kV): 18,900 km of 37,700 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.

How complete is the grid map for Iran?

Moderate — 23.3 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 63% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.

Who operates the grid in Iran?

TAVANIR;Iraqi Ministry of Electricity are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 0% of Iran's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.

What interconnectors connect Iran to its neighbours?

3,635 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, plus 1,675 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Iran · electricity network

Iran power grid

OverWatts maps 37,700 km of Iran's electricity transmission network across 3,238 line segments and 24 substations, the 8th most-mapped grid of 153 countries. Its backbone is extra-high voltage (380–764 kV), carrying 18,900 km — 50% of the mapped length, with the highest tagged voltage at 400 kV. That works out to 23.3 km per 1,000 km² of land — moderate OpenStreetMap coverage, ahead of 63% of mapped countries. It is connected to 7 neighbouring grids by 3,635 MW of existing cross-border transfer capacity, with a further 1,675 MW planned.

Open the grid lens →Iran profile →

37,700 km

Mapped transmission line

Substations

of 153 mapped grids

3.6 GW

cross-border · 7 neighbours

400 kV

Highest voltage

OpenStreetMap coverage

Moderate23.3 km / 1,000 km²ahead of 63% of 153 mapped countries

This grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn Iran's network — not how much network exists. Large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone, and every kilometre here is mapped length, so the totals are a floor rather than an operator-reported figure. 0% of segments carry a real line name and 0% an operator tag.

Mapped line length by voltage

380–764 kV18,900 km 50%
220–379 kV18,800 km 50%

3,238 segments · a segment is credited to the country containing its midpoint, so a border-crossing line counts once, on one side.

3.6 GW existing · 1.7 GW planned · capacities from the Global Transmission Database v0.1 (CC BY 4.0), existing as of 2023

On the interactive map

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Load against the network

91.8 GW

Operating generation

1571

km of line per substation

23.3

km per 1,000 km²

Where there is room to connect a new load depends on published hosting capacity, which most operators release only as their own map. OverWatts does not yet ingest those feeds, so these are the density measures the open data supports — generation and mapped demand against mapped network — not a headroom figure.

Operators tagged on Iran's network

TAVANIR;Iraqi Ministry of Electricity2 100%

Segment counts from OSM `operator` tags, merged across spellings. Present on 0% of segments — this ranks who is recorded, not market share.

How Iran compares · mapped grid by country

1. People's Republic of China624,300 km
6. Canada72,900 km
7. Mexico42,400 km
8. Iran37,700 km
9. France34,500 km
10. South Africa33,200 km

Frequently asked

How big is Iran's transmission network?: OverWatts maps 37,700 km of transmission line in Iran, across 3,238 segments, plus 24 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.
What voltage is Iran's grid?: Most of the mapped network is extra-high voltage (380–764 kV): 18,900 km of 37,700 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.
How complete is the grid map for Iran?: Moderate — 23.3 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 63% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.
Who operates the grid in Iran?: TAVANIR;Iraqi Ministry of Electricity are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 0% of Iran's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.
What interconnectors connect Iran to its neighbours?: 3,635 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, plus 1,675 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Elsewhere in Iran

Transmission lines Substations Power plants Data centres

Network geometry: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) © OpenStreetMap contributors, ingested and measured by OverWatts · derived 2026-07-26. Counts every mapped line of 220 kV and above; the map layer draws the ≥380 kV backbone only, so it shows less than is measured here.