A public debate emerged in these days in Teheran over the responsibilities related to the recent waves of power shortages in the Country.
The head of the Energy Commission of the iranian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says both the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Energy are responsible for causing the lack of gas and electricity in parts of the Country. The Ministry of Energy because it did not solve the issue of the diesel shortage and the Ministry of Oil because it did not refuel the power plant tanks. However, he says this should have been done during the 13th government while the current 14th government has inherited the problem.
From technical point of view the issue has been explained as follows:
The Ministry of Energy, as reported by Khabar on line, claims that in comparison with last year there has been a decrease of 64 % of the gas delivered to power plants. The shortage led to them being out of supply and, consequently, to power outages. The Ministry of Oil on the other hand says that the delivery of liquid fuel (gas oil and diesel fuel) has increased by 24%. In other words, for the Ministry of Oil the cause of the problem is simply the inefficient management of the power plants fuel portfolio.
The head of the Energy Commission of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce Arash Najafi, in one interview to Khabar on line, admits that both Ministries are actually to blame. The gas networks was disrupted last year and the power plants began to use the gas oil reserves they had in their tanks.
The Ministry of Oil could not supply the diesel consumed because of the many restrictions in the diesel production. In the spring 2024 the two Ministries joined their efforts to solve the issue but the accident occurred to former President Raisi changed the plan.
According to Najafi the 13th Government should have filled the tanks and not passing the matter to the next Government.
At the moment, the Ministry of Energy, according to Najafi, is responsible because it did not follow up the matter and the Ministry of Oil because it did not provide enough diesel. He adds “If the 13th government had fulfilled its duties on time and refueled the tanks, all these power outages would not have occurred in the country”.
On the question if the private sector could provide diesel he explained: “Businessmen and the private sector could and do supply a significant portion of the country’s diesel, but the type of contracts is such that they do not go for it. That is, they say, ‘Go and buy diesel,’ but after a few weeks they only pay for it. I think if the Ministry of Oil had a smoother financial model and the country’s bureaucracy was more efficient, the capacity of the private sector could be used more effectively.”
He continued: “The government, and in particular the Ministry of Oil, must stop being inflexible and have a more flexible financial model, at least in conditions similar to today’s situation, so that the country’s problems do not affect the people nationwide. Thus, as I said, both the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Oil are to blame, and the 14th government could have acted faster here, although this government can be considered the heir to the previous inefficiency.”
Najafi warned about the promises of Pezeshkian and the Minister of Energy about reducing gas and electricity shortages to zero by next year: “Without a doubt, the situation next year will be worse than this year because no specific measures have been taken to date, either in terms of increased production or savings. It would be good for the government officials who make such promises to also mention the measures they have taken”