Iran orders government offices to close Wednesday as heatwave strains power grid

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities order many government offices to close tomorrow in a bid to cut power consumption as a heatwave strains generating capacity, state media reported.

At least 15 of Iran’s 31 provinces will see public offices either shut or operating on reduced hours, the official IRNA news agency says.

Provinces affected include West Azerbaijan and Ardabil in the northwest, Hormozgan in the south, and Alborz in the north, as well as the capital Tehran.

Tehran governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian says the closures came at the request of the energy ministry and were intended to “manage energy consumption in the water and electricity sectors,” state television says.

Emergency and frontline services will remain open, the television report adds.

Elevated temperatures that began in mid-July have strained Iran’s power grid, prompting rolling blackouts nationwide as temperatures topped 50°C in the south.

Authorities in Tehran have also reduced the pressure in water mains to manage falling reservoir levels, as the country endures what Iranian media have described as the worst drought in a century.