Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 21
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran ranks first in the world in paying energy subsidies, Mohammad Mehdi Rahmati, an advisor to Iran's oil minister as well as chairman of the Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization, said.
He added that energy consumption in Iran 's production sector is 7-8 times more than the world's average, Shana news agency reported on Oct. 21.
Although Iran ranks first in terms of oil and gas reserves, but the country ranks 11th in terms of energy consumption, he added.
Due to the lack of a certain framework of policy for pricing, energy consumption is on the rise in the country, he noted.
"Electrification of agricultural water wells, expansion of rail network, renovation of transport fleet, improvement of efficiency of boiler rooms in 600,000 administrative, residential, and commercial building in the country, are among the projects which will be carried out with the aim of economizing on the consumption of fuel," he explained.
Iran's primary energy consumption increased from 1.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent per annum (OE/a) in 2010 to above 2 billion barrels of OE/a, of which about 22 to 25 percent of this figure is wasted without reaching any consumer.
The country is expected to face annual energy consumption growth of 5.4 percent in coming years.
Huge energy consumption in Iran exists while the energy efficiency rate is very low and the energy intensity is very high. For instance, the efficiency of Iran 's thermal power plant, which shares above 80 percent of the total power generation (276 billion KHw) in Iran, is about 37 percent.
Aimed at freeing Iran of the heavy burden of general subsidies to better support the poor, the subsidy reform plan, also known as the targeted subsidies plan, started in 2010 by a mandate from the parliament which tasked the then-administration with carrying out its provisions on the country's economy.
Edited by CN