TEHRAN – First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri announced the cabinet’s approved plan for awarding a 15-percent discount on the natural gas bills to the low-consuming households, to the Oil Ministry and the Planning and Budget Organization (PBO).

According to the new regulation, households whose gas consumption in the four-month period from early November to March is reduced by more than 10 percent compared to the average figure for the same period over the past two years, will be subject to the mentioned discount.

Businesses and commercial subscribers will also be awarded a five percent discount if they manage to reduce their consumption by 30 percent for 10 consecutive days.

The new incentive packages are implemented following the successful implementation of a similar program by the Energy Ministry based on which the ministry awarded low-consuming households with a 100 percent discount on their electricity bills.

With the beginning of the cold season in Iran, the consumption of natural gas increases drastically and the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) struggles to meet the needs of the domestic sectors, as well as the power plants, and also fulfill the country’s export obligations.

In mid-February, Iran’s daily natural gas consumption had hit a record high of 600 mcm a day due to heavy snowfall across the country.

Iran is currently producing over 810 mcm of natural gas on a daily basis which is mostly used inside the country for the domestic sector and also as fuel for the power plants and a small portion is also exported to the neighboring countries like Iraq.

According to NIGC Managing Director Hasan Montazer Torbati, of the total produced gas, some 25 percent goes to household consumption, 37 percent is supplied to the power plants, 30 percent is used in the industry sector, four percent used as CNG and four percent is for other consumptions.

EF/MA