Iran closes schools and government departments amid a severe wave

Iran closed on Wednesday schools and government departments in Tehran and in more than 20 of its 31 provinces to save energy, while the country is sweeping a frost wave, according to news agencies.
Although it possesses some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, Iran has been forced in recent months to legalize electricity due to the lack of gas and fuel needed to operate the power plants, especially in cold periods when the energy demand rises for heating purposes.

Reducing energy consumption

“Because of the severe cold, frost, snowfall, and the need to reduce energy consumption, government departments and schools in many governorates closed,” including Al -Burz, Faris, Hamdan, Isfahan, Kurdistan and Yazd.

On Tuesday evening, the electrical current was cut off in many Tehran neighborhoods, according to government television, speaking about problems in gas supplies at power stations.
For its part, the National Electricity Company, Tafanner, explained that it is working to keep the stations at work, but it has urged to reduce the consumption of gas and electricity by 10%.
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Bak Nejad announced on Wednesday that the record for gas consumption in Iran was destroyed during the past 24 hours, by 681 million cubic meters.
Official television stated that the temperatures decreased to 19 degrees Celsius below zero during the night in the city of Hamadan, making it the coldest regional capital.