Power consumption exceeded 50,000 megawatts on May 27, up 2,200 MW from the day before and about 3,000 MW higher compared to the same day of last year, the Energy Ministry’s spokesman for the power department said.
“With soaring temperatures forecast for the coming weeks and rise in the use of cooling systems, this volume of electricity consumption is worrying,” the ministry news portal Paven quoted Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi as saying.
“On May 26 consumption was 48,100 MW but reached 50,324 MW the next day, which is unprecedented for this time of the year (late May),” he noted, adding that the country registered 47,424 MW of consumption on May 27, 2019.
“This amount of consumption (over 50,000 MW) usually occurs in late June.”
The rise in power use pushes electricity bills up. According to the official, with some small steps consumers can reduce what they pay on their electricity use including adjusting the gas-powered air conditioners temperature on 24 or 25 degrees centigrade, and not using electrical appliances during peak hours.
“Using natural light during the day and turning off the extra bulbs has a great impact in reducing electricity consumption,” Rajabi Mashhadi added.
New Power Plant
To improve power supply in Lorestan Province, gas units of Khorramabad Combined Cycle Power Plant were launched on Thursday.
The plant has two gas units with total generation capacity of 324 MW. Its steam unit is under construction and upon completion later this year will add 160 MW to the production capacity, increasing daily output to 484 MW.
Over $153 million has been spent on the project carried out jointly by the government and private companies. The he steam unit is estimated to cost $190 million.
The provincial capital, Khorramabad, is one of the important cities in western Iran. It is located near a freeway connecting Tehran and Bandar Imam and is part of the North-South Corridor that bestows upon it strategic significance.
Installed national power capacity has reached 84 gigawatts and almost 80% comes from thermal plants.
Feeding Power Plants
Gas supply to power plants has increased by 20% compared to last week and reached 240 million cubic meters per day, dispatching director of National Iranian Gas Company said.
Mehdi Jamshidi Dana said at the peak of electricity consumption in mid-summer, power plants would need 310 mcm of gas a day -- a volume that can be met with ease by the National Iranian Gas Company due to rising in network capacity, IRNA reported.
The gas network has the capacity to supply one billion cubic meters of gas on a daily basis to households, industries and power plants.
“Currently, 85 power plants use natural gas as feedstock,” the official was quoted as saying. Gas accounts for about 95% of the total fuel consumed in thermal power stations.
