{"id":337301,"date":"2025-09-21T20:46:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T19:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=337301"},"modified":"2025-09-21T20:46:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T19:46:15","slug":"iran-resource-rich-power-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/society\/iran-resource-rich-power-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran: Resource-rich, Power-poor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Receding
Receding reservoir exposes a cracked lakebed at a dam in northern Golestan Province, underscoring Iran\u2019s deepening water crisis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s grid and water systems are buckling under a mix of chronic mismanagement and entrenched corruption\u2014despite the country\u2019s vast energy endowment. In the past week, senior officials have publicly conceded that \u201cmanagerial imbalance\u201d is driving power and fuel shortages, while new data and satellite analyses show Tehran\u2019s reservoirs at historic lows. Emergency shutdowns, rolling blackouts<\/a>, and warnings that the crisis will extend into winter underscore a deeper breakdown that years of oil and gas wealth have failed to prevent.<\/p>\n

Admissions<\/h2>\n

Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf acknowledged<\/a> on September 16, 2025, that Iran controls \u201cabout 19.5 percent of the world\u2019s oil and gas,\u201d yet still faces electricity and gas cuts. He blamed a self-inflicted failure of governance: \u201cThese problems are exactly where we lack systemic thinking\u2026 we either don\u2019t know or don\u2019t want data governance\u2026 I have said before that managerial imbalance has brought us imbalances in gas, water, and electricity; unless we fix that, nothing else will be fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The head of the state power utility (Tavanir), Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi, reinforced<\/a> the message a day earlier, warning on September 15 that \u201cthe severe electricity imbalance will not end soon; we must prepare for the cold season.\u201d\u00a0His remarks made clear that shortages will persist past summer peaks and into winter, when gas demand surges.<\/p>\n

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Why #Iran<\/a> Is Running Out of Water, Power \u2014 and Patiencehttps:\/\/t.co\/9ZghlJCNpO<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n