Iran announces scheduled electricity cuts amid fuel shortage at power plants

Iran’s state electricity company Tavanir has announced a series of scheduled power cuts in the country amid a cold snap that has pushed up demand for natural gas and left power plants struggling with low supplies of gasoil.

Tavanir issued a statement late on Saturday asking its customers to check the power cut schedule announced by its local branches in the Iranian provinces.

It said the reason for power cuts was the restrictions imposed on the supply of fuel feedstock in power plants because of the current cold wave.

The statement said another reason for the cuts was a recent decision by the government to ban the use of mazut in power plants to prevent pollution in major industrial cities.

It is the first time in decades that Iran has imposed power cuts in cold months as the country faces an increasing demand for energy in its household, business, and manufacturing sectors.

In a post on the X platform earlier this week, Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said that scheduled power cuts would be much better for people than exposing them to pollutants resulting from burning mazut in power plants.

Many power plants in Iran use natural gas as their main feedstock to generate electricity. In fact, the electricity sector is responsible for nearly 250 million cubic meters per day, or a third of the total gas demand in Iran.

However, power plants normally tap their supplies of gasoil in cold months of the year when household demand for natural gas hits record highs.

A Saturday report by Tasnim news agency said gasoil supplies at Iranian power plants had declined 43% in August compared to the same month last year.

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