TEHRAN- According to the spokesman of Iran's Power Generation and Distribution Company (known as TAVANIR) one third of the generated electricity in summer is used by cooling appliances, IRIB reported on Sunday.

About 21,000 megawatts, one third of the country’s whole consumption, is used by cooling appliances in summer, Mahmoudreza Haqifam told reports in a news conference.
According to the data released by TAVANIR, the country’s current installed power capacity stands at around 77,000 megawatts (MW).

Iran is currently wrestling with power shortage in many of its cities and the country’s power generation capacity indicates that the inefficient grids, transmission and distribution infrastructures are the main reason for such problems.

Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said on July 13: “We cannot put any more pressure on our generation, transmission and distribution equipment and systems and cause damage to them”.

The minister’s remarks are a clear indication that the country’s power infrastructure efficiency does not match the generation capacity.

HJ/MA