The Tehran Electricity Distribution Company announced that starting Monday, May 5, 2025, rolling blackouts will begin in the capital, Tehran. This follows weeks of frequent, unannounced power cuts in surrounding towns and cities across Tehran Province, which have already caused major disruptions in residents’ daily lives. Until recently, the company had remained silent, only issuing a formal statement after public criticism and frustration mounted.
In its announcement, the company urged citizens to maximize energy conservation to support equitable energy distribution. However, critics argue that the crisis stems not from public overuse but from years of mismanagement and a structurally flawed energy distribution system.
According to official data, the blackout quota for Tehran is 50 megawatts, mostly affecting small industries. In contrast, 200 megawatts of power cuts have been imposed on the rest of the province—impacting homes, agriculture, and various sectors. Observers say this fourfold disparity, without regard to population or local needs, reflects a deep structural bias in energy management.
This year, for the first time, the country faced a power shortage as early as mid-April, with blackouts hitting residential areas in the first month of the year. It was initially expected that these outages would last one to two weeks, and that the Ministry of Energy would stabilize the grid. However, in an unexpected turn, both planned and unplanned blackouts have persisted and are now merging into the broader seasonal outages expected during the summer months.
For example on May 5, residents from northern villages of Shemiranat to western cities such as Shahriar reported power cuts ranging from two to four hours, most of them unannounced or poorly coordinated with the official schedule. These extended outages have also affected water supply in areas reliant on electric pumping systems. For instance, in Sabashahr, a town in Shahriar, electricity failure at local wells led to a drinking water outage lasting over four hours.
In Shemiranat, while a two-hour midday power cut had been announced, the outage extended well beyond four hours. Citizens reported that emergency hotlines, such as 121, were unresponsive, adding to public frustration. The greatest source of anger appears to be the lack of notice and the inconsistency between published schedules and the actual timing of blackouts.
Power outages have become an almost routine occurrence in Iran in recent years, frequently disrupting daily life. However, the fact that they began so early this year—in only the second month of spring—has raised concerns, especially given that the country has yet to enter the peak summer season when electricity demand traditionally surges.
Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokesperson for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, stated on Tuesday that the country faces “multiple imbalances” and that the government needs time to resolve them. However, she did not say how much time is required or how the administration plans to address the country’s growing energy deficit. With electricity demand increasing by around seven percent annually—roughly 5,000 megawatts—many remain skeptical about the government’s ability to keep pace.
Meanwhile, reports of water outages continue to emerge. In addition to scheduled blackouts, many residents have experienced sudden, unannounced electricity cuts that have triggered extended water shortages. This means that people often face water deprivation not only during planned restrictions but also when the power supply fails unexpectedly.
In Varamin and nearby towns like Qarchak and Pishva, residents have reported water outages lasting 10 to 14 hours in recent days. These hardships have not been reported in central Tehran, suggesting a stark disparity in infrastructure planning and emergency response. While residents in the capital remain relatively unaffected, those in the provinces continue to bear the brunt of both water and electricity shortages—without adequate communication or support.