Gas supply to power plants and major industries, including steel, cement and petrochemical plants, has set a record in the first half of the fall this year.
On average, 236 million cubic meters of gas were delivered to power plants between Sept. 23 and Nov. 6, which is 13% more compared with the same period of last year, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
During the 45-day period, an additional 15 million cubic meters per day were delivered to major industries, which indicate an 11% increase compared with last year’s same period.
With the rise of gas consumption in power plants by 10% year-on-year so far in the fall, mazut consumption has declined by 28%.
Mazut comprised 10% of the power plant's feed in the first half of last fall. The figure has been reduced to 7.5% this year.
As a result of the rise in gas supply and fall in mazut use, power plants and industries have continued their operations without interruption and less liquid fuel has been consumed, leading to the emission of less pollutants into the atmosphere.
Almost 85% of Iran’s electricity (76,000 megawatts) are produced by thermal power stations, most of which run on natural gas.
The National Iranian Gas Company produces upwards of 950 million cubic meters per day, which is mostly used to meet domestic demand.
Supplying gas to power plants, instead of liquefied fuels such as diesel and mazut, has not only helped with the sustainable electricity supply but also curbed air pollution.
Air pollution has posed a challenge in the country for years, as some power stations still burn diesel and mazut for power production. However, the government has started substituting liquefied fuels with natural gas in power plants.
Iran has abundant natural gas deposits and it is more cost-effective to use gas for power generation instead of liquid fuels.
NIGC has substantially raised gas production, especially from the giant South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf to meet the growing needs of households, power plants and industries.
Iran offers natural gas to households and businesses at highly subsidized rates, which experts blame on the illogically high level of gas consumption.
Rising usage over the past winter forced NIGC to cut gas supplies to electricity stations across Iran, causing brief but recurrent power cuts in large cities across the country.
