Rewards instead of fines: The solution to the gas imbalance crisis lies in people’s pockets!

According to an exclusive report by Energy Press, the energy crisis and gas imbalance have paralyzed the country for years, because instead of investing in efficient projects and increasing production, governments have sought short-term and populist solutions such as raising prices.
The finger of blame for the gas imbalance is always pointed at sanctions and lack of investment, but the reality is more bitter than these words.
Energy Crisis; The Result of Years of Imprudence
Hamed Sahib Khan, an energy expert, said in an interview with Energy Press: We have not only failed to increase production and withdrawal from reservoirs, but we have also ignored excessive consumption and improper demand management. Also, our entire focus has been on building huge megaprojects with direct government investment, and we have neglected small and popular projects.
Criticizing the governments’ approach to solving the energy crisis, this expert emphasizes prioritizing non-price solutions. He believes that governments are more likely to increase prices due to the simplicity of implementation and are oblivious to more complex but effective solutions such as rewarding people for saving energy.
Yazd; A successful model for saving gas consumption
Sahib Honar, referring to the successful experience of implementing an innovative project in Yazd, believes that delegating gas consumption management to user companies and creating a certificate market for saved gas can achieve significant savings in gas consumption.
According to this expert: One of the companies that implemented this project in Yazd last year bought saved gas from people for 5,000 tomans per cubic meter and paid each household between 800,000 tomans and 2,800,000 tomans.
He adds: In this project, 30 percent savings were achieved and 2.5 million cubic meters were saved by a total of 10,000 households. The gas that was purchased from the public for 5,000 tomans was sold to the steel company for 10,000 tomans. In this way, the steel company secured the gas it needed, the public received a good reward, and Wasit Company made a profit.