Power plants in Iran shut down due to fuel shortage and cold wave

Iran has the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, according to the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), and was the world’s seventh-largest crude oil producer in 2022. However, the electricity network suffers from a lack of infrastructure investment, mainly due to Western sanctions. In recent weeks, the country has been forced to ration electricity due to a lack of gas and fuel to power power stations.

In northern Iran, several power stations in Golestan province have been shut down due to a lack of gas, the Fars news agency reported. In this part of the country, temperatures have dropped to -5°C, causing private heating gas consumption to increase. In the central province of Lorestan, about 200 kilometers from the capital Tehran, “some gas-fired power stations have (also) been shut down for this reason,” state TV said.

Half of Iran’s 31 provinces have been affected to a greater or lesser extent by energy supply measures. In Tehran, where power outages have increased, schools and public services were closed for a second straight day on Monday. Schools will also remain closed on Tuesday. On Sunday, schools and public services were closed in half of Iran’s provinces to save energy.

According to state television, 28 provincial capitals had temperatures below 0°C on Sunday evening. At the same time, according to the Iranian gas company, gas consumption was 18 percent higher than in the same period last year. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian apologized on Monday for the repeated shortages and power outages that have irritated the population.