Iran Scrambles to Tackle Fuel Shortages Amid a Winter Cold Snap

(Bloomberg) -- A cold snap has forced school closures and other disruptions to public life across much of Iran, as authorities grapple with a shortage of natural gas for heating and electricity generation.

The closure of schools and other public institutions began over the weekend across provinces in the northern half of the country, according to reports in Iranian media. They will remain shut in coming days as part of efforts to manage the strain on fuel supplies.

Iran, home to a population of more than 85 million, has faced mounting difficulties in meeting its domestic energy needs, despite holding the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas. In what has become an annual ordeal, harsh winters have caused a surge in gas consumption and exposed other vulnerabilities in the nation’s energy infrastructure.

In response, the government has launched a nationwide campaign encouraging citizens to conserve energy. “We urge everyone to reduce the temperature of their homes by at least two degrees,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a brief televised address this week.

The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Iran’s gas consumption in the residential sector reached a record high on Saturday, pushing nationwide demand past 600 million cubic meters.

Iran’s energy crisis extends beyond the residential sector, with authorities often forced to cut off power supplies to industry in the colder months in order to conserve supplies.

With insufficient gas to meet the surging demand for power, the government has also resorted to burning highly polluting fuels like mazut — a type of heavy fuel oil — to sustain electricity production. That in turn has caused dangerous levels of air pollution, leaving major cities including Tehran routinely enveloped in a dense, gray smog.

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