A $20 Billion Need to Address the Electricity Crisis

In a meeting of the Energy Commission of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and the Renewable Energy Association, warnings were issued regarding the increase in electricity imbalance next year to 30,000 megawatts and the $20 billion needed by the electricity industry to overcome the crisis. According to the newspaper Shargh, Mohammad Amin Zangeneh, the secretary of the Renewable Energy Association, stated in this meeting: "It is predicted that the electricity imbalance will reach 30,000 megawatts." Davood Madadi, the president of the Renewable Energy Association of Iran, also warned about the consequences of increasing electricity imbalance, stating: "To address the shortage, at least $15 billion in investment is needed, and if we consider the network, substation, and transmission equipment, the required investment will reach $20 billion." According to Madadi, investors face multiple problems, including financial resource shortages and currency shortages, and governmental execution inconsistencies have exacerbated these issues. The chairman of the board of the Iranian Power Plants Association also stated on September 17 that the alarm for serious electricity shortages in Iran has been sounded. Ali Nikbakht emphasized that if immediate action is not taken, the electricity deficit next summer will reach 26,000 megawatts, and the government will not be able to supply one-third of the country's electricity needs. The electricity imbalance this year has caused significant damage to industries, leading to protests from industrial owners. However, the government has not found a way to support industries, and with the intensification of the imbalance, electricity to pharmaceutical industries was cut for three days a week, challenging drug supply in the coming months. In this context, the newspaper Shargh reported on the production challenges and the impact of electricity outages on the country's production process, noting that an analysis of the production performance of 120 listed companies shows that nearly 60% of these companies faced production declines in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year, with some companies experiencing production drops of up to 70%. Mohammad Bahreinian, a development researcher and industrialist, claimed that the loss from shutting down industry in Iran is more than 5,715 billion tomans per day. Hashem Orayi, a professor at Sharif University of Technology, also stated, "The loss from blackouts to industry is 5,715 billion tomans per day." Published reports indicate that while the Islamic Republic has spent a significant portion of the country's capital over the past 20 years under the pretext of "electricity production" on developing its nuclear programs and "completing the Bushehr power plant," people faced the recurring problem of widespread electricity outages last summer. Experts consider the lack of a plan and behavior outside economic frameworks in developmental discussions as the main cause of the energy imbalance and believe that with this style of governance, there is no hope for improvement. Hope Shakri: The Islamic Republic's wrong strategy in the energy sector has caused crises in electricity and gasoline supply. The Islamic Republic remains unable to control the electricity crisis; recommendations to use fans instead of air conditioners. Recurring crisis; citizens' narratives of power outages. Government incompetence and the continuation of the electricity outage crisis in Iran in an interview with Ata Hosseinian. Continuous and prolonged power outages in Iran; the Minister of Energy's solution: people should replace air conditioners with fans. Power outages and disruptions in hospitals; users: we live in the middle of a "black comedy."