TEHRAN – After weeks of constant increase, daily electricity consumption in Iran slightly fell on Friday to settle at 51.181 gigawatts (GW), the Energy Ministry portal (Paven) reported on Saturday.

As reported, the country’s electricity consumption fell 3,714 megawatts (MW) on the mentioned date compared to the previous day.

The figure also registered a 700 MW decrease compared to the same period last year.

According to Paven, the country’s power consumption stood at 51,881 MW on the same day in the previous year.

The electricity consumption in Iran has been following an unprecedented upward trend in the recent weeks as a new heat wave has blanketed the country.

Earlier this month, the energy ministry warned of the unprecedented increases in power consumption across the country.

Last Saturday, daily electricity consumption in Iran reached 55,071 megawatts (55.07 gigawatts) to register a new record high.

According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the Energy Ministry’s spokesman for the electricity industry, the country’s electricity consumption increased by 1000 MW compared to the figure for the same date last year.

Even though the summer peak consumption period has not started yet, new consumption records have been reported in 15 provinces of the country, Rajabi Mashhadi said on June 14.

The country’s average daily electricity consumption exceeded 53,000 MW in the first week of June.

Rajabi Mashhadi called on people to manage their consumption and try to limit the use of air conditioners during the night time in order to decrease electricity consumption and prevent blackouts during the summer period.

In early May, Iran’s Power Generation and Distribution Company (known as TAVANIR) announced that the electricity consumption, since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20) up to May 6 increased by five percent compared to the same period last year.

According to Rajabi Mashhadi, despite the coronavirus outbreak which led to the closure of some industrial units, electricity consumption has been increasing in the country as the hot season is approaching.

In the past decade, constant temperature rising and the significant decrease of rainfalls across Iran have put the country in a hard situation regarding electricity supply during peak consumption periods.

In this regard, the Energy Ministry has been following new strategies in recent years to manage the consumption and lessen the electricity losses in the national grid.

EF/MA