Copy in clipboard...
Scheduled electricity cuts amid fuel shortages at Iran’s power plants
Tavanir issued a statement late on Saturday asking its customers to check the power cut schedule announced by its local branches in the Iranian provinces, Press TV wrote.
It said the reason for power cuts was the restrictions imposed on the supply of fuel feedstock in power plants because of the current cold wave.
The statement said another reason for the cuts was a recent decision by the government to ban the use of mazut in power plants to prevent pollution in major industrial cities.
It is the first time in decades that Iran has imposed power cuts in cold months as the country faces an increasing demand for energy in its household, business, and manufacturing sectors.
In a post on the X platform earlier, Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said that scheduled power cuts would be much better for people than exposing them to pollutants resulting from burning mazut in power plants.
Many power plants in Iran use natural gas as their main feedstock to generate electricity. In fact, the electricity sector is responsible for nearly 250 million cubic meters per day, or a third of the total gas demand in Iran.
However, power plants normally tap their supplies of gasoil in cold months of the year when household demand for natural gas hits record highs.
A Saturday report by Tasnim news agency said mazut supplies at Iranian power plants had declined 43% in August compared to the same month last year.
Tavanir Managing Director Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi said on Sunday that with the cold season approaching and the increase in domestic gas consumption, power plants across the country face gas consumption limitations, forcing some to use liquid fuel as an alternative.
He went on to say that almost 85% of the liquid fuel used by power plants is supplied by diesel, with the remaining 15% coming from mazut.
“The electricity-intensive sectors of the country have posted a 7.5% rise these days, compared to corresponding figures of last year,” the official stated.