With freezing temperatures gripping Iran, the widespread closures of yet more schools, universities, and government offices has shown a deepening crisis in the country's energy sector.

On Monday, 18 provinces, including Tehran and Isfahan, were effectively shut down as authorities cited cold weather and energy consumption management for the disruptions.

However, ongoing gas and electricity shortages suggest systemic failures rather than mere seasonal challenges.

According to state media, government operations were fully suspended in provinces such as East and West Azarbaijan, Ardebil, Razavi Khorasan, Golestan, and Gilan. In regions including Khuzestan and Yazd, partial closures and delays in operations highlighted the varying severity of the crisis, leaving only four provinces unaffected.

Alongside freezing temperatures, pollution in provinces like Khuzestan added to the crisis, with six cities classified as hazardous.

Sadegh Ziaeian, head of Iran's Meteorological Organization, reported subzero temperatures at 480 of the country's 675 weather stations, with 28 provincial capitals experiencing freezing conditions. However, the closures have failed to prevent continued gas and electricity outages, exposing the vulnerability of the country’s energy infrastructure.

Hassan Mousavi, spokesperson for Iran’s National Gas Company, confirmed that 850 million cubic meters of gas were injected into the network on Saturday, with 71% allocated to households, small businesses, and industries.

“The gas consumption in the residential, commercial, and small industrial sectors has increased by 17% compared to the same period last year,” he added.

Officials have warned of gas pressure drops in the national network, reflecting the fragile state of the energy system.

Blackouts and power plant shutdowns

The crisis has forced shutdowns at gas power plants in provinces including Golestan and Lorestan. Mehran Amiri, head of Lorestan's Electricity Distribution Company, announced the closure of the Doroud power plant.

"Gas-fired power plants in the province, with a capacity of 130 megawatts, have been taken offline due to increased gas consumption by users," said Amiri.

"The province's power plants, including the Doroud power plant with a capacity of 90 megawatts, are currently out of operation."

Ahmad Mousavi from Golestan’s Electricity Distribution Company reported similar shutdowns in Aliabad Katoul and smaller plants.

Scheduled blackouts in Golestan now last up to two hours per day for each consumer.

The power sector is under immense strain, with many recalling the widespread blackouts of summer 2023 when the failing energy grid struggled to meet demand in extreme heat.

Now, winter has exposed similar deficiencies in gas supply, with citizens enduring heating shortages and intermittent power outages despite government claims of network stability.

In an attempt to manage the crisis, officials have called on citizens to conserve energy through campaigns like Two Degrees Less, urging households to reduce heating. The initiative has drawn widespread ridicule on social media, with critics dismissing it as an inadequate response to systemic infrastructure failures.

Iranian citizens, already burdened by rising energy costs, have expressed growing frustration with the government’s lack of transparency. Officials continue to attribute disruptions to cold weather while avoiding acknowledgment of the underlying issues in the nation’s energy infrastructure.

Only on Sunday, schools and government offices in Tehran and many other provinces were declared fully or partially closed due to factors such as snowfall, rainfall, temperature drops, energy management, air pollution, and dust storms.

Tehran was also shut down on Wednesday and Thursday last week.

Iran's energy problems are not new. Decades of underinvestment in the power and gas sectors have left the country ill-equipped to handle seasonal surges in demand, the closures, pollution, and blackouts this winter serving a reminder of the government’s inability to address long-standing weaknesses in the energy grid.

As temperatures drop and frustrations rise, the government's vague reassurances and temporary measures offer little comfort to citizens enduring yet another season of misery while at least one third of Iranians are now living below the poverty line amid the country's economic disaster.