Ali Rabani, head of energy optimization at the
National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said the initiative — initially designed
to achieve a 10% cut in household and industrial use — had shown the public’s
capacity to adjust when given clear incentives and transparent information.
“The participation of the people was beyond
expectations,” Rabani told an event marking the close of the campaign. “We
forecasted 10% savings, but in most cities we saw more than double that level.”
Iran’s petrochemical industry, a key pillar of
the economy, operates 76 plants with capacity to produce about 96 million
tonnes of output valued at $24 billion annually, according to Rabani. The
sector consumes the equivalent of 1.2 million barrels of crude oil a day as
feedstock and fuel.
Despite the Oil Ministry supplying some 860
million cubic meters of gas daily, shortages persist during peak demand, Rabani
said, with monthly losses for the government estimated at close to 200 trillion
rials ($3.2 billion).
He urged wider involvement by ministries
including housing, industry and culture, as well as schools and the media, to
promote energy efficiency. “Balancing supply and demand cannot be left to the
Oil Ministry alone,” he said.
The program, which began two years ago but
stalled until its recent rollout with support from NGOs and provincial
officials, included measures such as household education, community pledges and
incentives. Trust-building was a key hurdle, Rabani noted, as some participants
doubted promised rewards would be delivered.
He added that savings have also allowed more gas
to be allocated to major petrochemical hubs, cutting transport costs by
millions of dollars. NPC has separately launched 84 optimization projects
within the sector itself, estimated to reduce natural gas consumption by 260
million cubic meters.
Rabani called for mechanisms such as tradeable
“savings certificates” to attract investment into efficiency projects, and said
the industry was targeting 10,000 megawatts of renewable power capacity over
five years, with 100 MW already online.
“Iranians showed they have great capacity to
change consumption patterns,” he said. “We succeeded because the people stood
with us.”