Hassan Montazer-Torbati said connecting the villages to the national distribution network is high on the agenda. “Supplying this number of villages in a year is unprecedented in NIGC history,” Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of 25 gas supply projects in Andimeshk, Khuzestan Province, he said the company has plans to connect another 3,000 villages to the network in the coming fiscal year.
The move is in line with the government's goal of linking all urban areas and 90% of the suburban population to the gas network by 2022, Financial Tribune reported.
More than 27,000 villages, constituting 82% of the rural population as well as 97% of the urban population are connected to the national grid now, the senior energy official said.
According to NIGC data, more than 22 million households in 1,106 cities and 24,260 towns are linked to the rapidly expanding gas grid.
Supplying piped gas to cities and villages helps create direct and indirect jobs, apart from playing a significant role in fulfilling the government’s promises to the people.
Gas network can pave the way for small businesses like animal husbandry, greenhouses, bakeries and service centers and contribute to welfare.
About 95% of equipment used in the gas industry is produced domestically. In the past 10 years, the share of Iranian equipment in NIGC projects has risen from 70% to 95%, up 35%.
Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia and the clean fuel is its single biggest source of energy. Regrettably, it also is the world’s fourth largest gas consumer. The country produces over 850 million cubic meters of gas per day and demand has been increasing.