Imposing higher tariffs on those who exceed fair consumption limits is highly advised for convincing the public to consume electricity prudently so as to prevent frequent power outages, an energy analyst said.
"Reasonable prices will lead to judicious consumption, save energy and prevent excruciating blackouts across the country," Elaheh Izadpanah wrote in an analysis, Mehr News Agency reported.
According to the expert, long gone are the days when advising people would spur consumers to moderate their usage and cut down on their power bills.
Izadpanah believes that while the development of technology has led to a 4.5% growth in power consumption across the world, Iran's rate is 3.5 times higher than the global average. Average global electricity consumption rises by up to 3% per annum, but Iran's demand for power jumps to almost 10% every year.
According to Iran Grid Management Company’s data, power load peaked at the all-time high of 58,000 megawatts this summer, up 4,000 MW compared with last year's peak. Izadpanah believes that large consumers must be levied higher prices compared to regular users. She added that the experience of developed countries should be studied, as it shows the only solution to impel subscribers to use power judiciously is by revising prices and imposing heavy charges on such consumers.
Tangible Difference
"There must be a tangible difference between electricity tariffs so that subscribers feel the necessity to scale down consumption," she said. Based on the ministry's directive, using less than 50 kilowatt hours per month is considered low consumption and exceeding 650 kWh in a month is defined as high consumption. Low consumption bills average 22,500 rials (22.5 cents), while high consumers have to pay at least 1.17 million rials ($11.7) for their monthly consumption.
Izadpanah noted that such a difference still would not be enough to compel power wasters to modify their behaviors since the government is still paying much more indirect subsidies for power consumption. While the government has to spend around 200,000 rials ($20), for every 50 kilowatt-hour, hidden subsidies for high consumption rates stand around 1.75 million rials ($17.5).
