TEHRAN – Peak electricity consumption in Iran is expected to surpass 72,500 megawatts (MW) in the coming days due to the increasing temperature across the country, Iranian Energy Ministry's Spokesman for Electricity Industry Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi said on Saturday.

“Last weekend, we had an increase in temperature in some parts of the country, and this trend is still continuing,” Rajabi Mashhadi told IRNA.

He called on people and industries to manage their electricity consumption in the coming days in order to prevent any disruption in the electricity network.

The official also announced that the Energy Ministry is implementing a program based on which all subscribers whose consumption is less than the figure for their previous year’s same period will be rewarded with discounts on their electricity bills.

Earlier this month, Iranian Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian said the electricity consumption in the country broke the last year’s record by more than 3,000 MW this year.

“The amount of electricity consumption has been 6,000 megawatts more than the same period last year and 3,000 megawatts more than last year's record,” the minister said.

Mehrabian said the consumption is expected to increase even further as the temperature is foreseen to go higher.

EF/MA