Government competition with the private sector poses challenges to investment in the energy sector

According to Energy Press, Nasrin Yousefi Arefi, in an interview with ISNA, while diagnosing the presence of the private sector in the energy sector, stated: The most important obstacle to the private sector’s entry into the energy sector is the lack of attention as an industry category. This sector is considered an infrastructure and the responsibility for providing it is determined by governments. The government has always considered itself the one in charge of building power plants and has provided electricity transmission to consumers at an unrealistic price.
She added: Neglecting the energy economy and not considering the energy sector as an industry has prevented the government from investing in this sector. The price of energy is not real and there is a huge difference between the cost price and the supply price, which creates a financial imbalance.
The head of the Energy Commission of the Mashhad Chamber of Commerce, Babian, stated that the financial imbalance has led to the energy imbalance, stating: The most important reason for the private sector’s failure to enter the energy sector is the presence of the government. The private sector refuses to compete with the public sector. The government has entered the energy sector, and the private sector is trying not to interfere in the areas where the government has entered. The private sector’s distrust of the government prevents it from competing with the government, so the private sector has moved less towards areas where the government and the private sector have an active presence.
He continued: “As long as the government does not stop competing with the private sector and the private sector’s presence in every sector where the private sector wants to be present, the private sector will not enter that sector because there are many obstacles for the private sector. From obtaining licenses to selling electricity and collecting its debts from the government, these are all major obstacles that the private sector faces, and these issues have caused this sector to move less towards investing in the energy sector.”
Yousefi Arefi Babiyan noted that there is no shortage of resources in the country and that the private sector enters wherever it can get its capital and financial resources and benefit from its investment. He added: The private sector examines the cost and benefits of each project and the obstacles facing each task, and enters by considering the issue of how long the return on investment period will be by implementing a project, but this issue is not very important to governments. In some cases, such as the energy sector, it is considered the government’s duty and infrastructure. Therefore, if the government creates a healthy competitive environment, reduces its presence in this area, and provides the necessary support to the private sector, the necessary investment in the energy sector will definitely be made by the private sector.
The head of the Energy Commission of the Mashhad Chamber of Commerce emphasized the role of new technologies in reducing costs and increasing the productivity of the private sector, and stated: The private sector makes maximum use of financial resources and the time it has spent on implementing a project, and in the energy sector, it is moving towards new technologies and is trying to achieve the latest technologies in the world so that in addition to reducing costs, productivity increases and the greatest benefit from its investment, but the government may pay less attention to these issues.