In spite of the recent rainfalls across the country, Iran will face power shortage in the summer, a deputy at Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said on Monday.
“We should announce that the rainfalls will not have a significant impact on the aquifers’ water levels and the volume of water stored in dams, which is used to generate power,” Mahmoud Reza Haqifam was also quoted as saying by ISNA. Haqifam stressed that rainfalls in the past few days will “definitely” have no impact on the output of hydropower plants in the hot summer days when power demand peaks.
Such announcements are the norm after heavy precipitations, as Iranian officials believe that in times of plenty, people are wont to indulge and not control their water and electricity consumption. Referring to his meeting with senior officials of the Energy Ministry and provincial electricity managers on Tuesday over the crisis of blackouts in the hot season, the official said Tavanir is making a great deal of effort to prevent power outage in summer in spite of the reduction in water reservoirs.
“Water shortage will result in a serious problem in terms of electricity generation, which makes it necessary to take effective measures as of now,” he said.
Haqifam noted that the country will face a power shortage of at least 3,000 megawatts in summer.
The Energy Ministry’s projections show that hydropower plants’ electricity output will not go higher than 6,000 MW this summer. This is while the figure stood at 9,300 MW in the last summer.
The power generation reduction, coupled with the normal rise in consumption, will result in about 4,000 MW of electricity shortage during the current year’s peak consumption hours.
The country is experiencing the worst water year (started Sept. 23, 2017) in terms of precipitation in the past 50 years. According to Energy Ministry data, the average Iranian uses 250 liters of water per day, while per capita water consumption in metropolises such as Tehran may exceed 400 liters.
More than 80% of the water utilized in industries are consumed in domestic power plants. Electricity is crucial for all industrial activities and they can be brought to a halt due to water, and by extension, electricity shortage.
While annual growth in electricity consumption stood at 7% in the past fiscal year (ended March 20), estimates indicate it will reach 8% in the current fiscal. During the last fiscal, the country's power production peak exceeded 55,000 MW.
While national electricity demand exceeds production in summer, people experience occasional outages during the season. Iran's power demand hit a historic high of 55,400 MW in July, up from about 53,000 MW in the fiscal 2016-17.
