Iran’s sole nuclear power plant was temporarily shutdown because of a “technical fault” and it will take days before it is operational again.
“Following a technical fault at Bushehr power plant, and after a one-day notice to the energy ministry, the plant was temporarily shut down and taken off the power grid,” Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on its website early Monday.
Iran’s national electricity company in a statement on Sunday called on Iranians to minimise consumption during peak hours because of a “predicted rise in temperature” and “limitations in power generation due to ongoing repairs at the Bushehr plant”.
The company said the repairs may continue until the end of the week, which is Friday in Iran.
An official from the state electric energy company, Gholamali Rakhshanimehr, said on a talk show on state-run TV that the Bushehr plant shutdown began on Saturday and would last “for three to four days”.
He added power outages could result. He did not elaborate further, but this is the first time Iran has reported an emergency shutdown of the plant, located in the southern port city of Bushehr.