Iran's presidential election headquarters, housed within the Ministry of Interior, experienced three power outages on Saturday, affecting its operations.
The blackouts have become a symbol of Iran's broader struggle with an ageing and inefficient power grid, affecting everything from homes and industrial areas to large public events and now political campaigns.
The lights went out while Vahid Haganian, a senior official in the Supreme Leader's Office, was speaking after registering his candidacy, plunging the event into darkness in front of a live media and audience.
The incident sparked ridicule and criticism on social media, with critics highlighting the irony of the outage coming amid election promises to address aging infrastructure.
Critics say Iran isn't making progress, but is simply scrambling to repair its crumbling infrastructure. Despite having the world's second-largest natural gas reserves, the country suffers from power shortages during hot summers and cold winters, which are also caused by blackouts.
The power crisis has already caused disruption to the industrial sector, with frequent power outages and voltage instability causing reduced production and rising costs.
Latest data from Iranian authorities The country has been experiencing a sharp decline in net electricity exports due to several factors, including rising domestic consumption due to heavily subsidized electricity tariffs, which has led the government to worry about adjusting electricity tariffs amid concerns about potential public unrest.
Moreover, the Iranian government's economic policies, characterized by inefficiency and mismanagement, and the impact of international sanctions have worsened the performance of the energy sector.
