🔻 طرح بنزین ۸۷ هزار تومانی در کرمان ساعاتی پس از اعلام اجرای آن متوقف شد

🔻 طرح بنزین ۸۷ هزار تومانی در کرمان ساعاتی پس از اعلام اجرای آن متوقف شد

The pilot implementation of a gasoline supply plan at refinery rates in Kerman province was halted only a few hours after the details were announced, and provincial officials say that distribution of gasoline will continue, for the time being, according to the previous procedure.

Under this plan, consumers would have been able to receive gasoline at current rates up to 150 liters per month: 60 liters at a price of 1,500 tomans, 50 liters at a price of 3,000 tomans, and 40 liters at a price of 5,000 tomans. Any consumption beyond this amount was to be calculated at refinery rates, priced at 87,200 tomans per liter.

Reza Sefehvand, spokesperson for the Majlis (Parliament) Energy Commission, said that the purpose of setting these rates for excess consumption was to reduce fuel smuggling in Iran’s southeastern regions. According to him, gasoline consumption in some border provinces has reached about twice the country’s average, and fuel smuggling remains widespread.

However, Ahmad Salari-far, director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company in Kerman, announced that after negotiations between the governor of Kerman and officials in the country’s authorities—and given the need for further review—the implementation of the plan has been temporarily suspended.

This decision has also led to reactions.

Ahmad Zeydآbadi, a journalist, believes that the Kerman affair “shows the real state of energy in the country” and asked how the government intends to deal with what he calls the “moment of truth” in the energy sphere.

The Kerman plan was supposed to be implemented on a trial basis in order to assess the impact of the sharp increase in the price of excess gasoline on ration consumption and fuel smuggling.

The issue of gasoline pricing in Iran is highly sensitive politically and socially. The sudden increase in gasoline prices in November 2019 (Aban 1398), during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani, led to widespread protests in different cities across Iran, which were met with severe suppression by security forces.