Azerbaijan, Baku, July 27/ Trend, N. Umid/
Iranian Energy Ministry warned that, if citizens do not decrease electricity consumption, electrical outages will be inevitable, Jahanesanat daily quoted Iran's Energy Ministry as saying.
Reserve power capacity at Iran's power plants currently stands at 500 megawatts, which indicated a 3000 to 3500 megawatts fall compared to the first three weeks of the summer, the report said.
Iran's electricity consumption has surpassed some 1 billion kilowatts per hour yesterday, which is a new record in Iran's electricity consumption, Iran's Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad said.
Average electricity consumption during first four months of current solar year(started on March 21) has increased by some 4 percent compared to the same period of last year, he said, adding that, during last month (June 22-July 22) this figure increased by 7.25 percent compared to the same month of last year.
According to the report, using of gas coolers and non-standard equipment is the main cause of the increase in electricity consumption.
If the consumption trend continues, electricity interruptions during the next few days will be inevitable.
"As first step, electricity supply for industry and export would be limited, and then the electricity supply to commercial and domestic customers will be interrupted," he added.
Iran suffered from an electricity shortage only two years ago that forced the country into adopting a rationing program by scheduling power outages - of up to two hours a day - across both urban and rural areas.