Iran: Unexplained Power Outage

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Nando Times

Most of Iran suffers unexplained power outage

The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (May 20, 2001 7:24 a.m. EDT) - A power outage caused by an undetermined technical problem left nearly all of Iran without electricity Sunday, according to an Energy Ministry official.

Outages were reported in Tehran and at least six provincial capitals that are among Iran's biggest cities - Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Qazvin and Hamedan.

Akbar Nematollahi, a top adviser at the Energy Ministry, said over Tehran radio that the outage was "nationwide" and that only the eastern province of Khorasan and some parts in the southwest still had power.

"The outage is due to a technical problem in our national dispatching station. We don't know the real reason it happened, but it could be because of the very hot weather or because some power lines have snapped," he said, offering his "apologies to the nation."

Residents contacted by telephone by The Associated Press in several big cities reported they had lost power at about 1 p.m. (4:30 a.m. EDT.)

In Tehran, electric buses came to a halt, and passengers were stranded when the single underground subway line also lost power. Tehran radio said experts were working to restore power.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), May 20, 2001

Answers

Power outage hits several cities in Iran

The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Mysterious power outages hit Tehran and six other large Iranian cities at the same time on Sunday afternoon. Every one of the cities affected Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Qazvin and Hamedan is a provincial capital. Teran is also the national capital.

In Tehran, electric buses came to a halt, and passengers were stranded when the single underground subway line also lost power.

Tehran radio said experts were working to restore power. Calls by The Associated Press to the power company and other government agencies went unanswered.

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20010520_186.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 20, 2001.


Sunday, 20 May, 2001, 13:05 GMT 14:05 UK Power blackout hits Iran

Public transport came to a standstill in Tehran

A major power blackout has caused chaos in towns and cities across Iran. Electric buses came to a halt in the capital Tehran, and passengers were left stranded in the underground railway.

The blackout - lasting several hours - also hit the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Qazvin and Hamedan.

A spokesman for the Energy Ministry, Akbar Nematollahi, said the cause of the power failure was not yet known, but it could have been a result of power lines snapping in the very hot weather.

Power was restored after several hours to parts of the capital, but many other areas were still without electricity.

A senior official at the state power company Tavanir blamed the outage on breaks in high-voltage power lines.

The power cut coincided with a conference of major gas-producing countries in Tehran.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1341000/1341 027.stm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 20, 2001.


May 20, 2001, 11:00AM

Power returning after most of Iran goes dark Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran -- Power began returning to parts of the capital and other major cities today, after a sweeping power outage left nearly all of Iran without electricity for several hours.

Outages were reported in Tehran and at least six provincial capitals that are among Iran's biggest cities: Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Qazvin and Hamedan.

The blackout was caused by a power plunge at one of the main power distribution centers, Akbar Nematollahi, a top adviser at the Energy Ministry, said on Tehran radio without providing further details.

Nematollahi said the outage was "nationwide" and that only the eastern province of Khorasan and some parts in the southwest were not affected.

By about 4 p.m. local time power was restored in parts of Tehran and the provinces of Gilan, Khuzestan, Mazandaran, Lorestan and Markazi, he said.

"In the next few hours, we hope to reconnect the rest of the affected areas back to the power grid," he said.

Residents contacted by telephone by The Associated Press in several major cities reported they had lost power at about 1 p.m.

The blackout was unprecedented in scale. Outages were frequent during the 1980-88 war with Iraq, but they were never nationwide.

In Tehran, electric buses came to a halt and passengers were stranded when the single underground subway line also lot power.

Residents in high-rise buildings had to climb stairs to get out, or to get back into their homes. Some buildings pulled out generators, not used for years, to get elevators to function.

Cars piled up outside gas stations waiting for the power to return and get pumps working again. Even the Tehran radio was momentarily broken before generators kicked in.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/world/916050

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 20, 2001.


How could any country that big have a centralized power system, so that something like this could happen?

-- QMan (qman@c-zone.net), May 20, 2001.

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