TEHRAN - The Iranian Energy Ministry's Spokesman for the electricity sector Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi has said the country is going to import 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Armenia and Turkmenistan to meet the summer’s peak consumption demand.

“Importing electricity will be carried out along with other measures to provide sustainable electricity in the summer period,” Rajabi Mashhadi said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Rajabi Mashhadi announced a 9,000 MW increase in the country’s power plant capacity, which was done by the private and public sectors.

Daily electricity consumption in Iran reached 69,370 MW on Monday, June 10, registering a 7,000 MW increase compared to the same date last year, according to the data released by Iran Grid Management Company (IGMC).

According to IGMC, the gradual increase in temperature has caused a surge in the use of air conditioning appliances, and consequently, electricity consumption has also begun to increase again.

Based on IGMC data, the country’s electricity consumption stood at 61,300 MW on the same day last year.

In order to meet the electricity demand in the peak summer period, the Iranian Energy Ministry has put several programs on its agenda among which increasing electricity production and managing consumption are the major ones.

The ministry is going to implement a comprehensive program during the summer, based on which low-consuming households are going to be rewarded while the subscribers whose consumption exceeds the normal level will face a penalty.

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

Iran's Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (known as Tavanir) has repeatedly announced that the company is implementing a variety of programs for managing the situation and preventing blackouts in the country.

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