Iran's Rouhani Apologises For Blackouts, Blames Heat

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Iran's Rouhani apologises for blackouts, blames heat

Tehran, July 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jul, 2021 ) :Iranian President Hassan Rouhani apologised Wednesday for a wave of blackouts sweeping the country, blaming a searing drought he said had virtually halted hydroelectric power generation and prompted record consumption.

Since last week, Tehran and Iran's other major cities have experienced frequent power outages that authorities say may continue until late July.

"We regret the problems the people have had in the past few days," Rouhani said in televised remarks at a cabinet meeting mostly dedicated to the power cuts, which have sparked a chorus of complaints.

Unconfirmed videos circulating on social media appear to show frustrated Iranians protesting the outages in several cities including Shiraz and Kazeroun in the south, and Amol and Kordkuy in the north, as well as Tehran.

"On the one hand, our output has dropped due to the condition of hydroelectric power plants, and on the other consumption has gone up," Rouhani said.

He attributed the surge in demand to "industrial growth and extreme heat" as well as energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining operations.

In May, the government temporarily banned crypto mining for four months, but Iranian news agencies still report frequent police raids on "illegal farms" that authorities say use large amounts of subsidised electricity.

On Tuesday, Rouhani said Iran was facing an "unprecedented drought" with average rainfall down 52 percent compared to the previous year, bringing hydroelectric power generation to "almost" zero.

He called on the energy ministry to prevent any cuts outside of the scheduled blackouts of at least two hours a day.