Changing electricity consumption patterns plus efficient power management naturally has a cost of its own, but it (cost) would be "30 times less than what is spent on building power plants," the managing director of Iran's Energy Efficiency Organization (SABA) said Monday.
Energy consumption management is estimated to cost approximately $50 per every kilowatt hour, while almost $1,500 must be spent for the production of the same amount of electricity, Seyyed Hossein Sajjadi said, IRNA reported.
Insulation is one of the most important factors in improving efficiency and saving costly energy which should be taken into account by all relevant authorities. Approximately 36 percent of the total energy and 50 percent of electrical power is wasted in buildings due largely to poor insulation and construction material, he complained.
Power networks' peak demand is estimated to be 60 hours per annum. SABA has helped conserve 126 megawatts of electricity by optimizing power plants and cooling systems over the past years, the official said, expressing hope the figure would reach 500 MW.
Despite being energy-rich, wastage and misuse of energy in Iran imposes onerous cost on the national budget. The loss is said to be equivalent to the total development budget and is estimated to be about $8 billion annually, according to SABA.
The main factors responsible for the rapid rise in energy consumption and waste, population growth and heavy energy subsidies tow which Iranian households, industries and agriculture have long become accustomed to. This plus mismanagement, lack of investment, and the structure of the economy (a lion’s share of the economy under state/government control), have made a bad situation worse.
