Energy Minister: Without War Damage to Power Plants, the Grid Shortfall Would Have Eased Sooner; Capacity Reaches 102,000 Megawatts

Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said on Tuesday, 10 Shahrivar 1405 (September 1, 2026), according to Ecoiran, that the country's power generation capacity has reached about 102,000 megawatts and that the electricity shortfall cannot be solved by building plants alone, since how power is consumed also plays a decisive role. He said there was no significant supply problem until 20 Tir (mid July), but damage to some power plants during the recent war made managing generation capacity harder, and without that damage the country would have reached a supply demand balance sooner.

According to a parliament research center report on summer 1405 cited by Ecoiran, the grid shortfall at this summer's peak demand reaches about 13,600 megawatts, with simultaneous network supply capacity at about 68,400 megawatts against demand exceeding 81,000 megawatts. Aliabadi had also pledged on Monday, 9 Shahrivar, that if public cooperation continues, the household and industrial power shortfall would ease from next week. Mahmoud Hakimi, a member of the Iran Electricity Industry Syndicate's power market and energy exchange committee, told Ecoiran by contrast that the root of the crisis cannot be attributed solely to consumer behavior, and that centrally dictated power pricing has reduced the incentive to invest in power generation.