Posted on 22 May 2025
Iran’s steel industry is once again facing significant disruption due to power shortages, after the Ministry of Interior restricted electricity supply to some steel and cement producers by 90%.
The decision has drawn strong criticism from Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) secretary Seyed Rasoul Khalifa Soltani, who has warned of the mounting economic damage caused by recurring energy curbs, according to an open letter shared on ISPA’s web portal.
Soltani says the industry has already suffered more than $14 billion in lost production value over the past four years due to intermittent electricity and gas supplies. He describes the latest restrictions as a serious blow, particularly given that a memorandum of understanding – signed between the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade – had pledged to shield key industries from such disruptions, Kallanish notes.
“The government must be held accountable,” he notes, calling on President Ebrahim Raisi or his First Vice President to intervene and reverse the decision. Soltani urges officials to uphold their commitment to supporting domestic production, noting that the recent move undermines both the steel sector and broader industrial stability.
The steel industry, a critical component of Iran’s non-oil economy, has repeatedly found itself at the mercy of seasonal energy shortages, raising concerns over the country’s long-term industrial resilience and policy coherence.
This year, blackouts began in the southern part of the country on 16 April and were implemented in the central regions in May. In previous years, power cuts were implemented from 15 June to mid-September. This year, however, Iran experienced a very dry winter with much less rain and snow than average, leading to very low water levels in dams, limiting the amount of electricity generated by hydroelectric plants.
The government previously delegated the responsibility for deciding on the distribution of electricity restrictions to the Ministry of Interior.
Source:Kallanish
