At a meeting of the Iran Chamber of Energy Commission and the Renewable Energy Association, warnings were issued regarding the increase in electricity imbalance to 30,000 megawatts next year and the need for $20 billion to help the electricity sector navigate the crisis. Experts believe these warnings are laying the groundwork to prepare the public for the worsening crisis.
According to the state-affiliated Shargh newspaper, Mohammad Amin Zangeneh, Secretary of the Renewable Energy Association, said during the meeting, “It is predicted that the electricity imbalance will reach 30,000 megawatts.”
Davoud Madadi, the president of the Renewable Energy Association of the Iranian regime, also warned about the consequences of increased electricity imbalances, stating, “At least $15 billion is needed to address the shortages, and if we consider the network, substations, and electricity transmission, the required investment rises to $20 billion.”
According to Madadi, investors are facing numerous challenges, including financial shortfalls and currency shortages, with government inefficiencies exacerbating these issues.
On September 16th, Ali Nikbakht, the Chairman of the Iranian Power Plant Association, warned that a severe electricity shortage alarm had been sounded in Iran. He emphasized that if immediate action is not taken, the electricity deficit will reach 26,000 megawatts by next summer, and the government will only be able to meet one-third of the country’s electricity needs.
This year’s electricity imbalance caused significant damage to industries, prompting protests from industrial owners. Meanwhile, the government not only failed to support these industries but also intensified the imbalance by cutting power to pharmaceutical industries for three days a week, jeopardizing future medicine supplies.
In this context, Shargh reported on the challenges facing the production sector and the impact of power outages on the country’s output. The newspaper wrote that an assessment of 120 publicly traded companies showed nearly 60% of them experienced reduced production in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year, with some companies seeing production drop by as much as 70%.
Mohammad Bahreinian, a development researcher and industrialist, provided statistics claiming that the daily losses from industry shutdowns in Iran exceed 57.15 trillion rials (approximately $95.25 million).
Published reports indicate that while the Iranian regime has spent a significant portion of the country’s resources over the past 20 years under the pretext of “electricity production” to develop its nuclear program and “complete the Bushehr power plant,” the public faced recurring widespread blackouts last summer.
Experts believe that the lack of planning and disregard for economic frameworks in developmental policies is the primary cause of the energy imbalance, and they argue that under this style of governance, there is little hope for improvement.
