The Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines has reported a significant decline in production within the Herat Industrial Park, with output dropping by up to 80% due to intermittent and reduced electricity imports from Iran.

According to the Chamber's officials, many industrial factories have been forced to shut down due to the lack of reliable power supply.

Hamidullah Khadem, the head of the Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines, told TOLOnews: "We can say that there has been a 70% to 80% disruption in the production process. When there is no electricity, production comes to a standstill and loses its normal pace. The frequent power cuts and low voltage are causing workers to lose their jobs, and production grinds to a halt."

The untimely power outages and voltage reductions have inflicted financial losses on the owners of industrial factories in Herat. Many factories that have halted their operations have temporarily laid off their employees.

Abdul Qadeem Azimi, the owner of an industrial factory in Herat, said: "Without electricity, we can't work. We have 40 to 50 workers, but now only ten workers are present in the factory. Our workers come in at four in the morning and start working, but by ten or eleven o'clock [in the morning], the work stops again."

The energy needed for Herat's industrial park is supplied by imported electricity from Iran.

The Herat Electricity Directorate said that Iran has reduced and, in some cases, completely cut off its electricity supply to the province.

In recent days, the electricity supplied from Iran has decreased from 110 megawatts to 20 megawatts.

Khir Mohammad Miraj, the head of Breshna Company in Herat, said: "We have made extensive efforts and communicated at the provincial level to address this issue. Iran itself is facing electricity shortages and is completely cutting off its supply. Sometimes, when their limitations ease, they restore power at around one or one-thirty in the morning."

The Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines added that more than 800 factories operate in the province's industrial park. With the power cuts, nearly 80% of these factories have ceased operations, and approximately 50,000 workers have lost their jobs.