Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has called on authorities to manage gas consumption in the country, in separate letters to the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and governors.
“Improvident gas consumption in administrative, commercial, and household sectors has by far outstripped production,” Zanganeh was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying. “The network has become unsteady due to overconsumption.”
To prevent gas pressure reduction or supply interruption, necessary measures need to be taken by provincial governors, especially in the colder regions. IRIB can play an important role by informing, spreading awareness and encouraging the public to reduce consumption and prevent energy waste.
For all power plants to use natural gas instead of mazut, gas consumption in households must decrease, officials say. Gas consumption in power plants reached an average of 100-110 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) in the past 9 months, up from 80 mcm/d in the same period last year.
Gas can be supplied to all power plants if consumption of households is cut by 10-20 percent, Saeed Motesaddi human-environment deputy at the Department of Environment (DoE) said last week.
To curtail wasteful energy use and limit demand growth, the government has embarked on an energy subsidy reform to raise the prices of domestic petroleum, natural gas, and electricity. The first phase of the plan was enacted in late 2010, and phase two was initiated early this year.
