Electricity demand is expected to reach a peak of 70,000 megawatts in June, which will be 3,000 MW more than that of last year, the head of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said.
"Peak power consumption was 61 gigawatts, 64 GW and 67 GW in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively," Arash Kordi was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven on Monday.
The Energy Ministry is expecting a power deficit of at least 10,000 MW between June and July, he added, noting that the figure stood at 15 GW last year.
“Following its calls to reduce power consumption and avoid outages in the hot summer months, Tavanir signed 478,000 contracts with heavy consumers [industrial and farming communities] to shift consumption from on-peak to off-peak hours,” he said.
“Consumption could reduce by at least 5,000 megawatts [during peak hours] provided industries and farmers uphold their commitment with Tavanir.”
The official stressed that industries and the agro sector account for 55% or 32,000 MW (per day) of the total power consumption that is now above 45,000 MW and rising, adding that those who comply with the policy will be eligible for a discount in billing.
In 2020 and 2021, as per Tavanir’s contracts with 300,000 farmers and industrialists, those who turned off their water pumps and electricity-intensive tools between 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. received discounts.
The policy helped cut consumption in the agro sector by at least 2,000 MW.
Kordi expressed hope that the same plan can help meet power demand without major problems in summer when consumption is expected to reach 70 gigawatts.
Inexpensive Option
Kordi said harmonizing Iran and Russia’s electricity grids is the most viable and inexpensive option to help ease frequent power cuts during hot summer days when power load maximizes in Iran.
“Iran needs to synchronize its power grid with that of Russia because otherwise it has to invest billions of dollars to construct new power stations to bridge the widening gap between supply and demand,” he added.
According to the official, electricity demand peaks in Iran between June and July, and this is when Russia’s demand declines and the surplus can be imported to Iran.
He reiterated that the national grid cannot carry a load higher than 64 GW and that is why rolling blackouts (load shedding) is on Tavanir’s agenda to compensate the shortfall.
According to Kordi, with the rise in temperature in the coming weeks, more power will be used but currently there is no problem regarding electricity generation.
Nasser Eskandari, a deputy manager at Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, a subsidiary of the Energy Ministry, said all repair and maintenance of the country's thermal power plants are expected to be completed by the end of May so that all units are fully prepared for summer operations when consumption surges dramatically.
“The overhaul programs have registered 73% progress so far and will be completed in about two months,” he added.
Overhaul starts every year in September and ends in May of the following year to help ensure sustainable supply during peak demand.
The overhaul programs will add about 1,000 megawatts to the current generation capacity of power plants, which stands at 64,000 MW.
The capacity will be added to power plants by using knowledge-based methods without injecting fuel and investment.
