Since the beginning of summer and the rise in power consumption, electricity used by households has increased by 4% compared to last year and this trend is expected to continue with the rise in temperature in the coming weeks, the energy minister said.
“Currently, the temperature in the southern, eastern and central regions of Iran is high, and in the next five weeks, the temperature will increase in all regions and lead to higher power consumption in all sectors. This situation requires a more accurate management of electricity supply and consumption,” Ali Akbar Mehrabian was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven.
“The highest volume of consumption in the past weeks belonged to 302 large industrial units. The entire industry has recorded a 20% growth in electricity consumption this year compared to last year,” he added.
On Saturday, electricity consumption in the country reached 66,466 megawatts, which show an increase of about 6,000 MW compared to the same day of last year, when consumption stood at 60,580 MW.
According to the minister, 99% of the country's power plants are operational and about 1,500 MW of power stations are still under repair.
“Their overhaul will soon be over and they will resume operations in the coming days,” he said.
In related news, the spokesperson of the electricity industry said power consumption is expected to increase by 4,000 MW within a month.
Referring to the forecast of Iran Meteorological Organization regarding the increase and spread of heat across the country in the coming weeks, Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi said electricity consumption is expected to surpass 70 gigawatts soon and “we must be ready to maintain the stability of the country's electricity network.”
Supply-Demand Imbalance
Iran has experienced electricity supply-demand imbalances over the past three years mainly because of the rise in the number of subscribers, 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 surpassed 90 GW. However, the actual electricity generation is around 70 GW since the power plants cannot operate at full capacity due to various reasons.
Therefore, despite the new additions to the capacity, power authorities have been requesting household and industrial sectors to reduce consumption, especially during peak hours.
The government has implemented 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 regulations.
Changing working hours is expected to ease load management in provincial capitals, 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.
