Iran Takes Drastic Measures To Conserve Electricity In Tehran

Iran has banned the use of air conditioning at Tehran's state agencies as the country looks to save electricity consumption amid low power generation and prioritize electricity supply to homes and hospitals.

Tehran Power Distribution Company has said that the use of air conditioners at government agencies in the capital is prohibited to ease the pressure on the electricity distribution network during peak hours, Trend reported on Tuesday, quoting Iran's Fars News Agency.

"Accordingly, to prevent the overpressure on capital's electricity distribution network during peak hours, the use of air conditioner in all executive offices in Tehran is prohibited," said Ramin Pouria, director of the consumption management office of the Tehran Power Distribution Company.

The government is looking to prioritize electricity supply to residential areas and hospitals after Iran's hydropower generation slumped this year because of a lack of rainfall.

In the latest month in the Iranian calendar, March 21-April 21, electricity consumption in the country rose by 22 percent compared to the same month last year, Mohammad-Hassan Motevalizadeh, managing director of Iran's Power Generation and Distribution Company (TAVANIR), said at the end of April.

"The buildings of the Energy Ministry are required to save 50 percent of their electricity consumption, and this procedure is being followed in other governmental bodies," Motevalizadeh said, as carried by Tehran Times.

Electricity demand in Iran rose as temperatures increased earlier than expected. At the same time, Iran's electricity generation from hydropower plants has slumped by 40 percent due to low water resources resulting from lack of rainfall, Motevalizadeh said.

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that as of 2019, most of Iran's electricity generation came from natural gas, followed by oil, with hydropower a distant third, and nuclear power—generated by the only nuclear power plant in the country, Bushehr—an even more distant fourth.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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