Gas Supply Cut to 12 Petrochemical Units; Energy Imbalance Tsunami in Iran

The dimensions of energy shortages and crises in Iran are expanding daily, with experts referring to it as a warning sign of "economic collapse." In the latest instance, the Secretary-General of the Petrochemical Employers Association has announced the cut of gas supply to 12 petrochemical complexes. According to media reports, Ahmad Mahdavi Abhari stated, "We hope that with a 10% reduction in household consumption, which the petrochemical industry has encouraged people to adopt, more gas will be allocated to petrochemical units." Mahdavi emphasized that cutting gas to 12 petrochemical units is not befitting for the country. The website "Eco Iran" has highlighted the gas shortage issue, stating that this problem has not only affected large industries like petrochemicals but has also created serious issues in other industrial and household sectors. The media stressed that high energy consumption in the country, coupled with an imbalance in gas supply and distribution, has sounded the alarm for the country's energy infrastructure. Previously, the Iranian Steel Industries Association had announced that gas restrictions of 20 to 50 percent for steel industries began in mid-October. The cuts in electricity and gas for households and industries have intensified due to the energy supply crisis in Iran, and unlike previous years, energy shortages are no longer limited to the hot or cold seasons but are a year-round issue. Hossein Abdeh Tabatabai, an economist and professor at Sharif University, warned on December 23 of a potential "super crisis" in the energy sector, stating, "We may reach a point where we only have electricity for three days a week or gasoline for two days a week, and the rest of the days we won't be able to operate." Abdeh Tabatabai, who was introduced as a key member of Masoud Pezeshkian's economic team during the elections, emphasized in response to a question from the "Economy 100" website about the root cause of energy imbalance that "raising electricity prices will not solve the problem and is not the starting point." Experts believe that warnings about the intensification of imbalances, including in the energy sector and even wages against household costs, are overdue, and the situation has already crossed the warning threshold. Meanwhile, Pezeshkian's government has attempted to manage the economy solely through price increases in the early months of its activity, which many experts believe has led to worsening living conditions for the people. Protests over living conditions among retired educators and oil and gas industry workers, production stoppages due to gas shortages and power cuts; the furnace of 22 cement factories has shut down; strikes and protests over living conditions in Iran continue alongside the ongoing rise in the dollar price; the electricity crisis in Iran has led to investors regretting their activities in the electricity industry; a gas consumption warning has been issued in Iran; bakeries are turning to diesel; the return of blackouts in Iran, the government's policy of "either electricity or death."