Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.20
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Despite the implementation of a subsidy reform plan in Iran, the consumption of gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, and electricity is on the rise in the country, the Mehr News Agency reported on Dec. 20.
Gasoline is the most popular fuel in Iran. Statistics of the National Iranian Oil Production and Distribution Company show that more than 70 million liters of gasoline have been consumed per day in the country since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21).
Meanwhile, some 20 million cubic meters of CNG is being sold for cars across the country per day.
Currently, Iran imports 5-7 million liters of premium gasoline per day to be mixed with domestically-produced gasoline in order to improve its quality.
According to the report, the consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel has increased by 7.5 percent and 8 percent, respectively, compared to the year before, while the consumption of kerosene and furnace oil has decreased mainly due to the expansion of the gas supply network to villages.
For the time being, Iran's natural gas consumption is as much as four times the world's average, 18 times that of Japan, and equivalent to 18 countries of the EU.
China, with about 1.2 billion people consumes 130-140 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, compared to Iran, with 70 million people and 155-160 million cubic meters of annual natural gas consumption.
Moreover, the electricity consumption in Iran has increased even after implementing the subsidy reform plan.
Currently, the Iranian household sector consumes 2900 kilowatt hours of electricity on average per year, which is over 3 times the world's average.
The subsidy reform plan pays out 455,000 rials (about $18 based on the U.S. official exchange rate of 24,800 rials) to every Iranian, while eliminating subsidies for fuels and some commodities.
The government of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad implemented the first stage of the subsidy reform plan towards the end of 2010 in an attempt to wean the country off food and fuel subsidies. At the time, Ahmadinejad called it the "biggest economic plan of the past 50 years".
It allows the government to gradually slash subsidies on fuel, electricity, and certain goods over the course of five years, with low-income families being compensated with direct cash handouts.