"Shutdowns make the industry poor"
Household electricity or industrial electricity? Tehran Electricity Company has asked the people of the capital to save 10%, but industry and production are suffering the most from power outages. The combination of blackouts and the July heat has also disrupted daily life.
"The power outage has currently made the country's industries poor, and manufacturing and industrial units are suffering greatly from this issue." Abdolvahab Sahlabadi, head of the Iranian Chamber of Industry, Mines and Trade, emphasized that the motors and electric motors of industrialists have suffered various damages due to the power outages in recent days, and if this situation continues, the situation of Iranian industry will become worse than before.
Sahlabadi regrets that no steps have been taken in recent years to replace new and renewable energies, and that industrial electricity is being cut off in parallel with household electricity: "Power outages in industrial and manufacturing units not only involve a reduction in production, but also bring other specific losses. Industrial units face power outages in the summer, and their gas is cut off in the winter."
Household use, industrial use
ISNA news agency quotes Sahlabadi as saying: "The Minister of Energy believes that electricity consumption should be saved, but in the last few years, no positive developments have occurred in new and renewable energies, and we must know that the world's view is that even if household electricity is cut off, industrial electricity should not be cut off."
The Ministry of Energy has not exempted industrial and manufacturing units from the scheduled power outages, which carries the risk of a sharp drop in production and unemployment of workers. Of course, many factories and workshops have separate generators, but the chain of damage, such as a shortage of parts and raw materials or slow transportation, has undeniable consequences for the production process. A construction contractor tells DW: “Because our construction complex is located in an area where several important hospitals are located, we do not have power outages, but we hear and know about the problems of others.”
The head of the Iranian Chamber of Industry told ISNA that factories and manufacturing and industrial units have tried their best to minimize damage from power outages, but solutions must be found at a macro level: "Industrial owners adjust their systems in such a way that their cost price is reduced and the costs related to the consumption of energy carriers are reduced. A factory that consumes 2,000 kilowatts of electricity uses up-to-date parts and equipment, including related capacitors, to create conditions in such a way that it does not incur additional costs and increase electricity consumption."
Call for savings
On Tuesday, July 15, the Tehran Electricity Distribution Company asked the capital's citizens to help the electricity industry by saving just 10% on electricity consumption, especially during peak hours, i.e. 12 to 5 and 8 to 11 p.m., and to avoid unnecessary consumption.
The consequence of the power outage is not only the fall of the wheels of industry, people's daily lives are also affected by a chain of damages caused by the blackout. The capital's Traffic Command and Control Center said that traffic police officers are personally managing traffic and crossing due to disruptions in the traffic lights in central and western neighborhoods of Tehran. The head of Tehran's traffic police says that the number of accidents has increased due to the outage of the lights, and the municipal transportation and traffic organization is not responsible for considering emergency power or connected to solar energy at intersections.
Meanwhile, citizens, especially young people, have been advised to use the stairs instead of the elevator during scheduled blackouts. The CEO of the Kermanshah Fire Department says that since the blackouts began in July, there have been 96 rescue operations for people trapped in elevators.
The timing of the blackouts and the peak July heat has been frustrating for residents. A resident of a complex in western Tehran told Deutsche Welle: "Because the elevators were out of service and not working, the garbage from 48 apartments was not emptied overnight. The next morning, the stench of rotting garbage filled the entire alley."
No electricity exports to Iraq
The authorities' repeated requests for people to save electricity, change office hours, or provide safety advice for traveling and working during blackouts come at a time when the Iraqi government announced that negotiations to import Iranian electricity to the country have failed and that Baghdad will enter into talks with Saudi Arabia.
According to IRNA, the Iranian side has said that it cannot resume electricity exports to Iraq through four power transmission lines. It was previously stated that Iran's electricity exports to Iraq are due to Baghdad's $1 billion debt to Tehran.
Hamid Chitchian, former Minister of Energy, writes in a detailed note that the imbalance between the revenues and expenses of the water and electricity industry is putting a heavy strain on the national economy. Chitchian points out that the full cost of supplying each kilowatt-hour of electricity is between 310 and 480 Tomans, but its average selling price is about 66 Tomans. Comparing the price of electricity in Western or regional countries, Chitchian concludes that the price of electricity in Iran is so low that no one is tempted to save money.
Source: DW
