• Energy

    High Electricity Consumption Posing New Challenges

    According to the Energy Ministry, daily power use surpassed 56,000 MW on June 15, about 2,500 MW higher than the same day last year

    Routine overhaul of power plants is over and there is no problem supplying electricity with the current rates of consumption. But if power use exceeds 60,000 megawatts, there is a possibility of rolling blackouts, chief executive officer of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.

    “The operating capacity of our thermal and non-thermal power plants is 60,000 MW, and if consumption rises beyond this, we will definitely face problems,” Mohsen Tarztalab was quoted as saying by ISNA.

    Operating capacity is the total amount of electrical generation capacity that is operating (and ready to produce electricity) at any one time. 

    According to the Energy Ministry, daily power use surpassed 56,000 MW on June 15, about 2,500 MW higher than the same day last year.

    With the start of summer and rising temperatures, electricity consumption has gone to new highs as home cooling systems are normally not unplugged for days together.

    Tarztalab warned that consumers need to reduce their consumption or else blackouts would be inevitable.

    Between 2007 and 2017 annual power growth rate averaged 5.3%. Nonetheless, it halved in 2018 and 2019. Electricity demand reached 57,500 MW last summer.

     

     

    Import From Turkmenistan

    Meanwhile, Iran has resumed imports of electricity from Turkmenistan, head of Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Chamber of Commerce said.

    “Imports of 250 megawatts of electricity from the neighbor has begun and Iran will pay the Turkmens via barter trade,” Majid Mohammadnejad said.

    Iran is a major supplier of electricity to four neighboring countries of Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    However, it uses intermittent supplies from Turkmenistan and on a smaller scale from Armenia in summer to balance the load of its power grid.

    Iran imported 140 MW from Turkmenistan last year.

    Electricity consumption around the world continues to rise faster than the population, which is leading to increase in the average power consumed per person, the US' Energy Information Administration said.

    The EIA said electricity around the world is mostly used in buildings for lighting and appliances, in industrial processes for producing goods, and in transportation for powering rail and light-duty vehicles.

    It said growth in global electricity consumption is tied to economic growth, however, that relationship may differ depending on the country.

    "Producing a service with greater economic value does not necessarily require more electricity than a lower-value service," the statement said, noting that nearly all of the increase in global electricity consumption can be attributed to developing countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

    The average amount of electricity consumed per person, also referred to as per capita electricity consumption, reflects possible changes in the composition of an economy, as in the shift to more energy-intensive industries, and changes in service demand, such as the growing demand for air conditioning and appliances.