Mohammad Reza Aref, at the meeting of the Article 8 working group, emphasized the necessity of energy consumption management in winter, stating: "We must speak honestly with the public and explain that in the gas sector, due to the imbalances of past years and the damages caused by war, we are facing shortages and need to conserve energy."
Public Cooperation for Conservation
Aref stressed the importance of public cooperation for conservation and assisting the government in maintaining the stability of the gas network during the cold season, adding: "If some consumers do not adhere to the consumption pattern, the price of their gas will increase." He regarded the formation of the Article 8 working group as one of the important and successful decisions of the government and clarified: "Decision-making regarding petroleum products is one of the most complex issues in the country, and neglecting these complexities in the past has created problems."
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Reducing Gas Consumption and Increasing Network Resilience
Aref stated that the goal of forming the Article 8 working group is to create consensus on decisions related to petroleum products, saying: "The government's strategy is to build consensus in decision-making across various sectors, including petroleum products, and so far, due to the establishment of consensus and understanding, good achievements have been made." He also mentioned the measures planned to increase the resilience of the gas network in winter, announcing a target of reducing daily gas consumption by 25 million cubic meters in the residential sector and 5 million cubic meters in commercial, educational, tourism, agricultural, and non-major industries.
In this meeting, Mohammad Sadegh Azimi Far, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, presented a report on the results of the emergency card organization plan at fuel supply stations. According to this report, the emergency card organization plan has recently been implemented in 11 provinces, and following its implementation, gasoline consumption in November this year has decreased by five million liters compared to November last year.
These changes are part of the optimal energy consumption management and maintaining the stability of the gas network during winter. Additionally, the total policies implemented in this area have increased compressed natural gas (CNG) consumption in the country by 15 percent.
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