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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran drought forces power cuts
2008-05-30
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran is facing a summer of power cuts after a severe drought slashed output from its hydroelectric power plants, the energy minister warned, according to press reports on Thursday. "The electricity shortage and the cuts will multiply before the start of summer," Energy Minister Parviz Fattah was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.
Gonna get worse when electrical pylons mysteriously fall, and generators mysteriously fail, and power stations mysteriously go off-line ...
He said there was a shortfall in electricity production due to "the drought and the lack of water" in dams. "The production of hydro-electric power must reach 6,500 megawatts but for the moment it is only 1,500 megawatts."

A spring of only sporadic rain has left Iran with a severe drought as it enters summer, which is normally hot and dry all over the country except in the humid northern provinces.
Thanks, Halliburton ...
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already told Iranians to watch their consumption of water. Officials have said a drop of 10 percent in consumption is needed to prevent even worse cuts. The capital Tehran and other cities have already been hit by cuts of up to three hours in certain areas as the authorities seek to make-up the shortfall.

Iran had to cope with major power cuts during the 1980-1988 war with Iraq but since the 1990s the authorities have invested in major projects, such as hydroelectric dams, to match the consumption of its over 70 million population.

The electricity cuts recall major gas cuts suffered by northern Iranian towns during the bitterly cold winter this year, as a halt of gas exports to Turkey failed to make up for the domestic shortfall.
Posted by:Steve White

#21  I debated saying 'muslim country' instead, but decided the distinction wasn't that important

Iranians used to be Great People---no serious decisions while sober
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2008-05-30 21:16  

#20  I thought Israel used Nuke plants to generate electricity?

Mayhaps. While Irans uses electricity to generate nuke plant.

Back to #15.
Posted by: twobyfour   2008-05-30 21:09  

#19  What complaints could Iran possibly have about anything. Inshallah, right?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2008-05-30 20:48  

#18  I thought Israel used Nuke plants to generate electricity?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-05-30 20:00  

#17  Hey, Halliburton! See #15.

Already working on it?
Posted by: Bobby   2008-05-30 19:36  

#16  So Syria, Iran (and Iraq) are facing droughts. Must be the result of global warming. All part of a Rove/Cheney/Halliburton plot, no doubt.
Posted by: Glenmore   2008-05-30 19:35  

#15  You want to cripple electricity? Neutralize those transformers at each end of a high voltage (115kv or higher) transmission line, or at intermediate substations. They are non stock items and are expensive and slow to replace.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2008-05-30 11:40  

#14  Iran gets less than about 10% of their electricity from Hydro according to this source they have one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world and could upload such plants quickly if they had the professional and financial resources to do this.
Posted by: mhw   2008-05-30 10:02  

#13  "this year's cooling of the climate"

If its this years, its the weather, not the climate.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2008-05-30 09:13  

#12  JFM, I debated saying 'muslim country' instead, but decided the distinction wasn't that important.
Posted by: phil_b   2008-05-30 08:34  

#11  You mean training the most efficient and effective Arab army right upon his door step isn't? :)
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-05-30 08:20  

#10  Mind you what in Israel would a manageable problem, is a full blown crisis in an Arab country

Do you know that by calling Iran an Arab country you have given Ahmedinajad a reason to nuke America?
Posted by: JFM   2008-05-30 07:40  

#9  No blood for wheat/power/oil/water!
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-05-30 07:14  

#8  Kinneret Level: Lowest Since 1962 and Dropping

Mind you what in Israel would a manageable problem, is a full blown crisis in an Arab country.
Posted by: phil_b   2008-05-30 04:18  

#7  Try:

Open Sez-a-me

Either that or train a group of women and men to do basic infrasruture etc. etc.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-05-30 03:27  

#6  How will this affect Israel?
Posted by: gorb   2008-05-30 02:17  

#5  This will hit food production as well. FAO predicts wheat production down 2 million tons this year. Likely an underestimate.
Posted by: phil_b   2008-05-30 01:13  

#4  Looks like Syria is facing drought too:


Syria, like its neighbor Iraq, has been experiencing a serious drought during the past 8 months. Drought stress in 2008/09, which was exacerbated by abnormally hot spring temperatures, is expected to cause significant losses to the nationÂ’s winter grain crops. Wheat production is expected to decline 38 percent compared to last year, to the lowest level in the past seventeen years.


link
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-05-30 01:09  

#3  So I would expect to find reduced rain in Iran as well as in Iraq.
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-05-30 00:56  

#2  Well, there *IS* a regional drought. Iraq has had to shut down some power generation due to lack of water, too.

From the USDA:

Iraq has been experiencing one of the worst droughts in the past 10 years, with total wheat and barley production in 2008/09 expected to decline 51 percent compared to last year. Drought conditions have predominated the entire winter growing season, and have severely impacted non-irrigated grain production in its northern regions. Acute dryness has also affected winter grain area and yield potential in several of the countryÂ’s primarily irrigated governorates (Iraqi provinces).


Which can be anticipated due to this year's cooling of the climate. That region gets dryer when the climate cools and wetter when it warms. During the Holocene Optimum it was *much* wetter in that region.
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-05-30 00:56  

#1  sure they are not running the power into enrichment facilities?
Posted by: 3dc   2008-05-30 00:24  

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