Use of Air Conditioners Banned in Iranian Government Offices Due to Power Shortage
The Ministry of Power announced a ban on the use of air conditioners in all government departments and offices in Tehran.
According to Mehr News Agency, Ramin Pouria, director of the consumption office of Tehran Electric Distribution Company, said on Monday, April 2, that based on a directive from the Ministry of Power, all executive government bodies are permitted to consume electricity up to a maximum of 50 percent of the equivalent period last year, and to prevent increased load on the capital’s electricity distribution network during peak hours, the use of air conditioners in these sectors is prohibited.
Ramin Pouria cited “severe reduction in water resources and capacity of hydroelectric power plants, special conditions caused by the spread of coronavirus disease, and the necessity of ensuring electricity supply to hospitals” as reasons for the power shortage.
Gholamali Rakhshani-Mehr, deputy coordinator of distribution at Tavanir at the beginning of Ordibehesht month, said that in addition to the aforementioned cases, “unauthorized use of electricity for cryptocurrency mining has also caused the balance of electricity production and consumption to be disrupted and become negative this year.”
Previously, following widespread power cuts in several major cities in Iran in the final week of last December, the CEO of Tehran Industrial Parks cited cryptocurrency extraction, particularly Bitcoin, as the reason for the power outages.
Mohammad Hasan Metoli-Zadeh, CEO of Tavanir Company, stated that Iran has sufficient power plant facilities, but “the problem is that power plants need fuel to generate electricity.”
Claims of inability to provide sufficient gas to the country’s power plants are being raised in circumstances where Iran has the largest natural gas resources in the world after Russia.
Source: Radio Farda
