Power consumption across Iran surpassed 66 GW on Tuesday, indicating a 9% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to data from Iran Grid Management Company, electricity consumption in 24 provinces shows an increase in comparison with their highest record last year, Mehr News Agency reported.
Last year's highest peak demand was about 67 gigawatts in July, which is projected to surpass 72 GW this summer.
So far, the western region of the country, including the provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdestan and Ilam, have had the highest consumption with a 54% growth compared to last year.
Mazandaran, Gilan and Fars provinces have also experienced a growth of more than 20% in consumption compared with the same period of last year.
Iran has experienced electricity supply-demand imbalances over the past three years mainly because of a surge in energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining and a heavier use of natural gas in manufacturing and household sectors, which had caused power plants to operate at lower capacity.
A total of 583 gas and steam units in 129 power plants are operating across the country to ensure sustainable supply during peak demand.
Iran’s installed power generation capacity has reached 90 GW, of which over 72 GW are produced in thermal power plants and the rest is generated by hydroelectric, renewable, nuclear and cogeneration units.
Despite the new additions to the capacity, power authorities have been requesting households and industrial sectors to reduce consumption, especially during peak hours.
Changing Working Hours
The government has implemented different plans to curtail demand, one of which is changing working hours in state-run offices to avoid power outages.
Since the beginning of June, offices have been obliged to start work at 6 a.m. so that Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company [Tavanir] can meet power demand during peak hours that start at 2 p.m.
State organizations’ power consumption is constantly monitored remotely and their electricity supply will be cut off if they do not comply with Tavanir’s regulations.
Changing working hours is expected to ease load management in provincial capitals, big cities and towns. The initiative is projected to reduce power consumption by as much as 1 GW.
As per the hour shifting scheme, staff will start work at 6:00 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. and leave at 1:00 p.m. instead of 2:30 p.m.
The program calls for state organizations to switch off all cooling systems after 12:00 p.m. and reduce consumption by at least 30% in other sections (lighting, computers and other electrical appliances) between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.
