A day after the Iranian regime’s Majlis (Parliament) Research Center reported on the persistent decline in industrial sector growth, the head of the Industry Commission of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce warned about potential worker layoffs in this sector due to repeated power outages.
On Sunday, December 22, Alireza Kolahi Samadi stated that over the past three years, investment in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution has been “zero,” leaving Iran facing a massive electricity shortage.
The Majlis Research Center also reported the previous day that energy imbalances in the country have caused Iran’s industrial economic growth to decline sharply since 2023. This trend worsened in the second and third quarters of 2024, approaching “zero.”
Some industries, such as pharmaceuticals, wood and paper, automotive, ceramics, tiles, and cement, experienced negative growth in the first half of this year.
Samadi mentioned that the government is obligated to compensate industries for damages, but it fails to do so and lacks the resources to fulfill this responsibility.
Mahmoud Najafi Arab, head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, said last week that the industry and mining sector’s share of GDP decreased by 1% in 2025 compared to the previous year, falling to 15.2%, with the decline continuing.
Warnings about worker layoffs come as 8.5 million people in Iran are employed in the industrial sector, accounting for one-third of the country’s workforce.
The damage caused by power outages is not limited to the industrial sector.
Previously, the head of the Iranian Agricultural Guild Chamber reported a 30% decrease in autumn crop production, while an inspector from the National Broiler Farmers Union mentioned 20% losses to poultry farms due to power outages.
Kolahi Samadi stated that at least $10 billion in investment is needed to address the electricity shortfall. Due to the water crisis, building high-efficiency combined cycle power plants is no longer feasible.
He elaborated: “Under these circumstances, decentralized power generation has increased, but continued reliance on it will lead to a diesel supply crisis. Additionally, the mazut and diesel used in the country are substandard, with high-sulfur diesel damaging engines.
He emphasized that in the short term, the only way to increase electricity capacity is through solar energy. However, renewable energy requires significant investment in the transmission network, and given the state of the country’s grid, high-quality solar electricity distribution is not feasible.
Renewable energies such as solar, wind, and geothermal currently account for about 1% of Iran’s total electricity production, compared to over 30% in Turkey and the European Union.
