Higher electricity and water tariffs for consumers who exceed reasonable consumption limits is on the government agenda and the new rates should be finalized by end of the fall, the energy minister said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 18th Iran International Electricity Exhibition that opened in Tehran on Friday, Reza Ardakanian said plans are underway to “manage consumption.”
By raising tariffs, “we intend to control consumption during the peak summer seasons,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
According to a report by the Majlis Research Center, consumers who exceed reasonable limits constitute 15% of the total electricity subscribers and more than 50% of power consumption during peak hours is in households.
With 57,000 megawatts used in the summer, high consumers accounted for 8,000MW. One key reason, experts say, why big consumers do not care about repeated government appeals for judicious use is that prices are very low compared to most countries.
Environmentalists and social planners say adopting an effective pricing policy and revising electricity tariffs can and will have the desired effect and help cut consumption.
In the first month of fall (Sept. 23-Oct. 22), 89 million kilowatt hours of electricity from renewables was generated and this helped prevent emission of 62,000 tons of greenhouse gases.
About the programs of the ministry for the development of renewable energy, Ardakanian said, “4,000 MW of renewable power will be added to the national grid by 2020”.
The minister said talks have been held with European firms but “our main focus is on domestic investment and we are trying to build small units to produce renewable energy”.
Some Positive Sides
According to the minister, in the first month of fall (Sept. 23-Oct. 22), 89 million kilowatt hours of electricity from renewables was generated and this helped prevent emission of 62,000 tons of greenhouse gases.
Moreover, it reduced consumption of 25 billion liters of diesel and mazut, which are among the main sources of air pollution. This volume of new energy production also saved 20 million liters of water.
Installed domestic renewable energy capacity is 654 megawatts, generated by 94 power plants. Almost 42% of the renewable power plants are wind turbines, 41% solar units, 13% small hydroelectric plants, 2% waste-to-energy units and 2% biomass factories. Private sector investment in the growing renewable sector has reached 98 trillion rials ($653 million).
The 18th IEE is hosting 512 companies (442 foreign and 70 domestic) displaying their goods and achievements in the electricity industry.
Exhibitors, from the 18 countries include Austria, Germany, Russia, Japan, the UK, China and the US. The participating companies are involved in lighting, cable, electrical equipment, automation, instrumentation and transmission lines.
Given the attendance of key major electrical companies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, the Tehran expo offers the opportunity to network, learn about new technologies and techniques, share ideas and discuss trends in the key power industry and its affiliates. The four-day event will conclude November 5.
World Consumption to Increase
More of the world will run on electricity in the future, but most of the power will not be clean. This was the key message from a report on investment trends by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in summer.
The Paris-based organization said electricity generation attracted more capital than oil and natural gas for the second year in a row, but investment in renewables declined and was expected to keep falling.
Running the economy on electricity is only one part of the energy transition. The question of where the power comes from is also key.
Electrifying transport will reduce air pollution in cities, which is largely attributed to nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles, but the issue will not ultimately be solved if they are simply replaced by carbon dioxide and other pollution from fossil-fuel power plants.
“Global investment in renewables and energy efficiency declined by about 3% last year and, more importantly, it could slow down once again this year,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director. “This is a worrying trend, especially when we think of our clean-energy transition goals and the implications for energy security, climate change and air pollution.”
The electricity industry attracted $750billion in 2017, thanks to robust spending on grids. That is compared with $715b that flowed into oil and gas supply.
About $298b was invested in renewable power generation, down 7% from the previous year.
