The Energy Ministry’s proposal to increase electricity tariffs for heavy consumers has been approved by the Majlis special commissions and if ratified by the government, it will come into effect next year, a deputy energy minister said.
According to the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad, Mahmoud Reza Haqifam says the rise in tariffs would start from the last month of spring and continue throughout summer when consumption rises phenomenally.
“The Energy Ministry has proposed that the scheme be limited to four months every summer, from late May to end of September,” Haqifam was quoted by the economic daily as saying.
“Close to 80% of the consumers are in the average 300-kilowatt hour per month bracket and will not be affected by higher tariffs,” the official underlined. “The plan targets the remaining 20% heavy consumers who need to revise their consumption patterns” or get ready for much bigger electricity bills next year.
With 58,000 megawatts used in the summer, high consumers accounted for 8,000MW. One key reason, experts say, why the big consumers are often indifferent to repeated government appeals for judicious use is that electricity prices are very low compared to many countries.
Data released by the Energy Ministry show that among more than 200 countries, Iran sells the cheapest power -- on average at 700 rials (about 2 cents) per kilowatt-hour after India, Kuwait and China.
The country's current installed power capacity is 79,000 MW but a lot less is produced, especially in the hot season, due to water shortage in hydroelectric dams, wastage and technical problems.
Official data has it that while development of technology has led to a 4.5% growth in power consumption across the world, Iran's rate is 3.5 times over and above the global average. Average global electricity consumption rises by up to 3% per annum, but demand in Iran jumps to almost 10% every year.
