Seyyed Ismail Hosseini, a member of the Energy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated to reporters in Shiraz about the status of energy production and consumption in the country: "The energy sector, including oil, gas, and electricity, is one of the strengths of the country and a component of power, but unfortunately, this sector has become one of the challenges of the country in recent years for various reasons."
Challenges of Energy Management
Hosseini identified mismanagement, weak oversight, and some actions taken in various sectors of the energy field as factors contributing to this challenge and added: "The country has adequate electricity production capacity, and the current electricity production capacity has reached nearly 100,000 megawatts. However, the necessary measures for optimization in consumption have not been sufficiently implemented, and in the areas of transmission and distribution, losses have not been reduced to the required extent."
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He continued: "The consumption equipment has also not been sufficiently optimized, and the culture of energy consumption needs reform; for this reason, at certain times, consumption exceeds production, and the Ministry of Energy is forced to implement blackouts."
Status of Electricity Supply in Winter
Hosseini discussed the status of electricity supply in winter, stating: "A large part of the country's electricity production capacity is dedicated to thermal power plants, and the share of nuclear and renewable power plants in production capacity is less. In winter, simultaneous with a sharp increase in gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors, the ability to deliver gas to thermal power plants decreases."
He also emphasized that "this assessment pertains to the normal conditions of the country, and even if there were no war, we would still face imbalances in the energy sector, but now the country is in a wartime situation, and some infrastructures in the fields of gas, oil, and diesel have been hit."
Hosseini pointed to the efforts of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Oil in securing electricity and gas, saying: "The implemented blackouts are the same planned two-hour blackouts that would have existed even if a war had not occurred due to energy imbalance."
He also discussed the status of fuel supply in the country during wartime, referring to the lack of increase in gasoline prices and the formation of fuel queues, adding: "In conditions where some countries were not even indirectly involved in the war, we did not face such a situation throughout the wars."
Seyyed Ismail Hosseini concluded by emphasizing that overcoming the challenge of energy imbalance in wartime requires consensus among various governmental bodies and the public, stating: "The Energy Commission and responsible entities in the energy sector are committed to ensuring that the current production capacity of the country is appropriately distributed among various consumption sectors."
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