Ali-Asghar Rajabi emphasized the role of operators in managing energy imbalance, stating: Imbalance occurs when consumption increases, and in winter, the consumption of the residential sector and other sectors reaches a large volume. If part of this consumption can be managed and the released gas is allocated to the industrial sector, it will naturally have an impact on managing the imbalance.
Demand Management and Optimal Use of Resources
The Energy and Carbon Manager of the National Iranian Gas Company added: To manage energy imbalance, we generally have two paths ahead: The first path is to increase production at the beginning of the chain, which can be pursued through the development of fields and the creation of new gas production capacities and projects such as the development of new phases in the South Pars Special Economic Zone. This path requires time, investment, technology, and various infrastructures and is a time-consuming process. The second path is demand management at the end of the chain, which can be pursued through the implementation of projects such as gas operators.
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Rajabi said: In demand management, it is not only a high volume of technology and investment that is needed, and compared to increasing production capacity, results can be achieved more quickly. Therefore, in terms of indicators such as time and investment, consumption management can be a faster path to create new capacity on the supply side of gas.
Coverage of 2 Million and 365 Thousand Subscribers in Optimization Projects
The Energy and Carbon Manager of the National Iranian Gas Company, referring to the latest status of operator companies, stated: Currently, about 87 type two operator companies, whose goal is to implement gas consumption optimization projects, have been approved, and their activity within this framework has been facilitated. These companies have started their activities in 29 out of 31 provinces of the country and have signed a total of 108 contracts.
He continued: Among the 87 approved companies, 33 have so far entered the contract signing stage and have presented plans to reduce about one billion cubic meters of gas. These companies have planned to implement management and optimization projects in various sectors, including residential, power generation, agriculture, and various industries.
Rajabi added: According to the presented plan, about 2 million and 365 thousand subscribers will be covered by these projects, and a significant portion of the capacity to reduce consumption during the cold days of the year, when gas consumption increases, is achievable.
He reminded: Although the planned amount is about one billion cubic meters, the importance of this project is not limited to the annual volume, but the timing of achieving savings is important, and reducing consumption during peak periods can have an impact on managing the gas network.
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