Parliament Research Center Says Power Outages Due to Gas, Diesel, and Mazut Shortages

The Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly states that nationwide and scheduled blackouts in Iran are due to shortages of gas and liquid fuels for power plants. Concurrently with reports about the onset of blackouts in various cities in Iran, including the capital, the Research Center confirmed on Tuesday, November 21, that due to simultaneous shortages of gas, diesel, and mazut, there is a problem in electricity supply in the country. The center specified in its report that during this year, the consumption of liquid fuels, including mazut and diesel, in thermal power plants has increased, and currently, the reserves of diesel and mazut in power plants have decreased in the first six months of 1403 compared to the same period last year. According to this report, the increase in gas imbalance and the inability to supply alternative liquid fuels have created challenges for electricity supply in winter. Officials of the government of Masoud Pezeshkian had previously stated that preventing 'mazut burning' in some power plants is to avoid further air pollution. The justification for stopping mazut burning in three power plants is related to air pollution, while recently officials from Tavanir Company reported a severe shortage of mazut and diesel in power plants, and this year, due to gas shortages throughout the year, the consumption of mazut and diesel in power plants has nearly doubled in the first half of this year. Additionally, the reserves of liquid fuel for power plants for fall and winter have fallen to 40%, which effectively limits the government's ability to provide sufficient fuel for power plants. The shutdown of three power plants and the beginning of electricity rationing in provinces, including the capital, occurs while Iran continues to export its natural and liquid gas. Iran has targeted the export of 11 billion cubic meters of gas this year and 16 billion cubic meters for next year to Iraq and Turkey. Last year, Iran also exported 12 billion cubic meters of gas, which if it had stopped, it would not only have avoided burning 8 billion liters of mazut in power plants but also prevented the consumption of 2 to 3 billion liters of diesel. In this context, the Tasnim news agency criticized the government on Tuesday, stating that instead of halting power plant operations due to shortages of mazut and diesel, it could have reduced the export of liquid gas (propane and butane) and used it in power plants. Iran exports 6.5 million tons of liquid gas to China annually, which if stopped, would eliminate the need for mazut burning in power plants. The Research Center of the Parliament, in another part of its report, states that the government has considered the export of 16 billion cubic meters of gas and an income of 5.2 billion from this source in the next year's budget bill, while it is likely only able to export 12 billion cubic meters. The report adds that the government has also considered the export of 1.85 million barrels of oil per day for next year, which is unlikely to be realized. In this context, the commodity information company, Kpler, told Radio Farda that Iran averaged 1.55 million barrels of oil and gas condensate exports per day in the first 10 months of this year. The hope of the government of Masoud Pezeshkian for a 300,000 barrel increase in daily oil exports comes at a time when Donald Trump has recently won the U.S. presidential election with a very hardline approach; someone who previously reduced Iran's daily oil exports from 2.5 million barrels in 2017 to below 350,000 barrels in 2020 by exiting the JCPOA and announcing stringent sanctions. With the coming to power of Joe Biden and adopting a softer policy towards Iran to persuade the Islamic Republic to return to the JCPOA, Iran's oil exports have shown an upward trend over the past four years.