No One Takes Responsibility for Power Outages; Ministry of Oil and Energy in Conflict

After the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Energy identified gas shortages as the main cause of the recent power outages in the country, the Ministry of Oil responded by calling this claim 'deflection.' According to state media, the Oil Ministry's information base issued a statement declaring that 'mismanagement of the fuel basket for power plants is the main cause of the electricity crisis' and emphasized that 'gas shortages are not the main reason for the outages.' The Oil Ministry stated that sustainable energy supply requires proper management of the fuel basket for power plants, and while this management could have prevented recent problems, the Ministry of Energy 'has ignored its responsibilities and presents gas shortages as the main cause of the electricity crisis.' The Oil Ministry elaborated that the supply of gas and liquid fuel to power plants has exceeded commitments, and on many days, more than the specified amount has been delivered to power plants. It further emphasized that 'in contrast, improper management of equivalent fuel consumption in power plants has led to a reduction in fuel reserves for the cold months of the year.' The ministry noted that due to insufficient consumption of fuel oil in the summer, power plants consumed 'only 24 million liters instead of the daily 40 million liters,' resulting in a reduction of 2.3 billion liters of fuel oil reserves and increased pressure on the gas supply network in winter. The Oil Ministry's statement regarding the Ministry of Energy's inability to manage outages reported that the official 'liquid fuel delivery in Bahman was 24% higher than last year.' Additionally, the average delivery of diesel to power plants was 55% above commitments. The ministry pointed out the unprecedented increase in gas consumption in Dey and Bahman, which reached 681 million cubic meters per day on some days, stating that it has worked to keep the country's gas supply network stable and that the gas needed for power plants was supplied without issues. The Oil Ministry's defense of its ability to supply domestic gas comes amid a report from the state news agency ILNA, which indicates that the U.S. government's cancellation of Iraq's exemption from paying for Iranian gas has cast uncertainty over Iran's gas exports to that country. The U.S. government has announced that the cancellation of Iraq's exemption from purchasing gas and electricity from Iran is part of new sanctions against Tehran. However, Seyyed Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for the Union of Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Exporters, speculated that 'this U.S. action will not prevent Iraq from continuing to receive gas, but will only complicate financial payments.' He added that 'the continuation of Iran's gas exports to Iraq depends on the Iranian government's decision,' but 'Iran does not have enough surplus gas for export, and domestic gas supply is a priority.' This industry official stated that despite this, 'Iraq is heavily dependent on Iranian gas' and noted that '8,000 megawatts of Iraq's electricity has been lost due to the cutoff of Iranian gas, forcing the country to use polluting fuels.' According to this report, the Iraqi Prime Minister has stated that his country will still need Iranian gas until 2028 and has requested that the exemption from sanctions continue. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Iraqi Prime Minister, emphasized that 'this country needs to continue this exemption until a substitute solution for gas imports is found.' Hosseini also predicted that Iraq would negotiate with the U.S. to extend its exemption to maintain the flow of gas imports. The beginning of the 47th year of the Islamic Republic's rule is marked by blackouts and shutdowns, with the possibility of complete power cuts in industries in the coming days, halting production due to gas shortages and power outages; the furnace of 22 cement factories has shut down, and organized blackouts have returned to Iran.