"Executive bodies that exceed limits defined by the Energy Ministry will face frequent power cuts from 1 p.m. onwards," Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
According to Fazli, Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpey, governor general of Tehran Province, has been ordered to cooperate with the Energy Ministry.
Both are tasked with regularly monitoring the power consumption of state entities and report directly to the interior minister, Financial Tribune reported.
"All state bodies have been warned that they will not have electricity in the afternoon unless they reduce their consumption by at least 10%," Fazli added.
“Provinces, whose average temperature exceeds 45 degrees centigrade in summer, such as Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchestan, have changed their official working hours.”
Their state employees start their job at 6:30 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. and also leave their offices one hour earlier.
He asserted that the rule will not apply to large cities like Tehran, Mashhad, Yazd and Kerman.
The change in working hours in state organizations during electricity’s peak demand in summer reduced power consumption by as much as 350 megawatts in 2017.
Alireza Ahmadi-Yazdi, an official in charge of Consumption Department in Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, believes that a huge amount of energy is wasted in state companies and institutions where judicious consumption is ignored.
Indifferent Consumers
Banks and municipal offices, which do not pay for power bills out of their own pockets, are indifferent to electricity consumption, Ahmadi-Yazdi said, adding that not only did some organizations not consume power prudently, but their use also rose in peak hours last year.
Ahmadi-Yazdi believes that as long as employees do not benefit from the advantages of power-saving plans, they will not be motivated to participate.
The official noted that saving energy is good business because it cuts expenses and is environmentally wise.
President Hassan Rouhani's administration approved a scheme last year, which obliges state-owned organizations to install solar panels to meet at least 20% of their electricity needs via clean energy over two years.
Experts opine that solar power and other renewable energy are a long way from replacing electricity or gas completely for the vast majority of businesses. But solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines and other renewable energy sources may be used to reduce reliance on traditional energy.
Incentives and programs have been presented, ranging from tax breaks and rebates to grants and loan programs.
Electricity demand reportedly surpassed 56,000 MW and electricity cuts have been enforced in Tehran Province.
The network load reached 58,000 MW during peak hours in the last fiscal and is expected to surpass 61 gigawatts this summer.
Soaring temperatures (hovering above 35°C and moving toward 50 degrees centigrade in the south) has made households, companies and businesses crank up cooling systems that are water-intensive. A majority of homes use the traditional evaporative coolers.
Currently, Iran has power exchange deals with seven neighboring states. The country’s installed capacity is around 81,000 MW.