Iran’s electricity consumption is predicted to rise 8% in summer, managing director of Iran Grid Management Company said on Tuesday.
“This translates into a shortage of 3,000 megawatts in the season, which should be resolved in consultation with regional officials,” Reza Riahi was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
Referring to regional dispatching centers as the executive arms of national dispatching center, Riahi said dispatching systems need to be renovated, hoping that the measures taken by the company would improve current conditions.
The official called for obeying the dispatching center’s commands and noted that related instructions have been recently updated.
The flow of electricity with the system is maintained and controlled by dispatching centers, which can buy and sell electricity based on system requirements.
Iran's installed power capacity is close to 74,000 MW. The country's electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation.
It is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and exports electricity to Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.
40,000-MW Consumption in Peak aHours
According to Mehr News Agency, due to the hot weather in most Iranian cities, the nation’s power consumption crossed 40,000 MW during peak hours on Monday, which indicates thousands of megawatts more than that of the previous days.
In spite of the rise in consumption, the country’s stored electricity supply was appropriate, as it was reported to be close to 4,000 MW during peak hours.
This is while average power consumption in the industrial sector, which has been 3,954 MW, did not witness significant fluctuations.
Iran’s trade balance with its neighbors in the power industry continues to be negative, as of the total 803 MW bartered electricity, only 149 MW account for the Persian Gulf country’s exports.
Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian has recently set a redline for power consumption in the summer’s peak hours (54,000 MW) that, if crossed, will result in blackouts.
The redline was 50,177 MW in the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2016).
Abdolrasoul Pishahang, a senior official at Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, said in February Iranian power plants producing about 3,000 MW are dilapidated and plans have been made to replace these age-old plants with modern ones.
The efficiency of Iran's power plants was put at 37% last year, but it is scheduled to reach 57% within three years and ultimately approach the global standard of 85%.
