Power Consumption Reaches Startling Levels

Households are using record amounts of electricity pushing consumption growth rates 3.5 times higher than the global average, an energy expert said.

"While average global electricity consumption rises by less than 3% per annum, Iran's demand for power jumps to almost 10% every year, which is alarming" Davood  Aboutorabi, a member of Yazd University Faculty of Electrical Engineering was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Noting that such imprudence has made Iran the 18th largest power consumer in the world, Aboutorabi said, "Consumption patterns should be reconsidered by adopting efficient strategies, one of which is to rethink and rewrite the existing unsustainable consumption patterns."

According to the Iran Grid Management Company’s data, power load peaked at the all-time high of 56,500 megawatts last Tuesday, up 6,000 MW  compared with  the previous day. 

Power consumption is forecast to reach a peak of 58,000 MW this summer season, the warmest days of which are yet not here.

The university teacher said, "While the world's primary energy consumption increased 27% in the past decade, Iran's overall energy use rose by a whopping 80%" during the same peiod. 

Aboutorabi said promoting judicious consumption as well as reducing electricity wastage in the national power grid can help tackle the occasional power shortages abut which the power supplying has been warning every summer for decades.

"Instead of allocating huge funds for constructing power plants, we can and must find better ways of managing the electricity we generate so as to curb blackouts  during the hot summers when consumption rises."

For instance, if consumers use power judiciously and adjust their cooling systems on the global standard of 24-26 degrees, peak electricity demand can be handled without much problem, he said.  

  Low Precipitation

Regarding the systemic decline in precipitation across the country, Aboutorabi said the phenomenon has made a bad situation worse, which further demands a more prudent approach to energy consumption – an issue that has been discussed for extended periods but apparently without the desired outcome.

Data from Iran Water Resources Management Company, a subsidiary of the Energy Ministry, shows that since the beginning of the current water year (Sept.  2017), the country hardly received 166 millimeters of rain -- a drastic fall of 26.6% compared to last year.

Energy Ministry projections show that hydropower plants’ electricity output will not exceed 6,000 MW this summer while the figure was 9,300 MW last summer.

High and rising consumption has compelled the government to import more power  from neighboring states like the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Iran's installed electricity capacity is currently around 80,000 MW, but it imports 700 MW of electricity in summer. 

The volume is expected to rise by 200 MW as the weatherman reports more heat and sweltering periods in the coming weeks.