The Iranian website Baztab, which is identified with Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai, has reported that, despite repeated denials by government representatives, there has been in recent weeks a sharp rise in electricity outages in Tehran and many other locations in Iran.

According to Baztab, the reason for the outages is the inability to meet the power needs in peak summer hours – a problem that the government is not dealing with.

The reformist daily Rooz was informed that recently, residents of the Khozestan province have been asked to cut back on electricity use during heavy usage hours.

Source: Baztab, Iran, July 17, 2007; Rooz, Iran, July 11, 2007