Gholamreza Dehqan-Naserabadi stressed that demand management must be treated as a central pillar of energy policy. He noted that the country spends billions of dollars annually on gasoline imports while domestic fuel consumption remains high and gasoline prices are significantly lower than global benchmarks.

Dehqan-Naserabadi said higher prices alone do not necessarily lead to lower consumption and argued that demand-management policies should take precedence over price-based measures.

As an example, he said the government should encourage the production or import of fuel-efficient vehicles instead of relying on fuel price increases to curb consumption. Past experience, he added, has shown that raising prices by itself has not delivered the desired reduction in fuel use despite being implemented on multiple occasions.

The lawmaker emphasized that improving consumption management and increasing efficiency are the most effective long-term solutions. When consumers are provided with vehicles that consume several times more fuel than comparable foreign models, he said, the government must also bear responsibility for the resulting fuel demand.

Dehqan-Naserabadi reiterated that diversifying the country’s energy portfolio is one of the strategies outlined in the Seventh Development Plan and called on the government to advance that policy. Expanding the use of alternative energy sources, he said, could help offset gasoline shortages and contribute to lower overall fuel consumption.