Result of Reduced Working Hours in Iran: Only 5 to 7 Percent of Power Shortage Compensated

Statistics provided by a senior official from the Ministry of Energy indicate that with a significant reduction in working hours on Saturday, less than 7 percent of the country's electricity shortage has been compensated. Hamed Ahmadi, the director of smartization and new technologies at the Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company (Tavanir), stated that a saving of one thousand megawatts was achieved due to the early closure of offices on Saturday, August 6. The working hours for all government centers on that Saturday were set until 10 AM. This one thousand megawatt saving from reduced working hours comes while the electricity shortfall in Iran is reported to be around 14 to 18 thousand megawatts per day, meaning that only 5 to 7 percent of the country's electricity deficit has been compensated. Past statistics from the Ministry of Energy also show that the normal electricity consumption of offices is about 700 megawatts, which rises to 2 thousand megawatts during peak summer consumption, taking into account the use of cooling systems. To address its significant electricity shortfall, the government first changed working hours and then reduced working hours or closed offices in some provinces. The unprecedented heat and electricity shortages have shut down all government offices and banks in Iran. Mr. Ahmadi further mentioned that 70 thousand offices across the country are being monitored online, and any office or organization that does not comply with the restrictions on the use of cooling equipment will face a warning of power cut. So far, the economic losses from reduced working hours or the closure of offices and banks have not been reported, but electricity supply to industries has also halved since the beginning of summer, and according to assessments by domestic media and economic activists, the loss from electricity delivery restrictions to industries is about eight billion dollars. Since last June, as the electricity shortfall peaked and the government failed to achieve its goals for developing new power plants, it has blocked internet users' access to its statistics, making it unclear how the country's electricity production capacity has changed compared to last year and what the status of electricity exports and imports is. Last year, the government aimed to launch over six thousand megawatts of new power plants, of which only one-third was realized, and a large portion of these plants are gas and steam types with very low efficiency of 30 to 33 percent. Additionally, while the growth of solar and wind energy in Iran last year was only 2 percent, and the share of clean renewable energy in the country's electricity production remained around 1 percent, the International Energy Agency in its latest report states that currently one-third of the world's electricity is generated from renewable sources. According to this report, the global renewable energy production capacity this year will reach 10 thousand terawatt-hours, which is nearly equal to the total electricity produced by nuclear, gas, and oil-fired power plants. It is expected that clean electricity production worldwide will surpass that of coal-fired power plants next year and become the leading source of electricity generation in the world.