According to the Khorasan Razavi Gas Company, Zera’atkar visited the province Friday, Aug. 21, where he toured the production facilities of a technology contractor working with the gas company.

During a meeting with the gas company's managing director, he reviewed savings achieved through the projects, equipment installation and replacement efforts, and the continuity of service from contracting firms. He stressed the importance of meeting requirements, ensuring coordination, and easing administrative processes.

Zera’atkar said dividing and managing gas consumption in the commercial and industrial sectors must be pursued more aggressively this year. He noted that, under directives from senior authorities, consumption management is being implemented in coordination with the Interior Ministry and other executive bodies. In the provinces, governors are working with relevant agencies to carry out consumption management plans based on guidance from the president's executive deputy.

He described the contractor-based model as one of the most modern and effective consumption management approaches used worldwide, calling Khorasan Razavi's implementation a model for accelerating similar efforts in other provinces. He added that greater involvement of the private sector would not only save natural gas but also create jobs and support vulnerable communities.

Mashhad Has More Subscribers Than 25 Other Provinces Combined

Hassan Eftekhari, managing director of the Khorasan Razavi Gas Company, presented a report on consumption trends and the company's optimization efforts. He said Mashhad alone has more gas subscribers than 25 of Iran's provinces, making optimization and consumption management efforts in the city especially important.

Eftekhari noted that Khorasan Razavi has a complete natural gas supply chain — from extraction and production to refining, transmission and distribution. He said that during winter, sharp increases in household consumption often force the company to restrict supply to other sectors, adding that officials are working with residents and pursuing optimization projects to help stabilize the gas network during peak demand.

He said the company had taken effective steps toward optimization even before the contractor-based plan was formally introduced, starting with its own facilities and buildings before expanding to other sectors.

Eftekhari added that the province has so far optimized 11,700 heating plants, implemented 325 smart heating-plant projects, and installed 54,000 high-efficiency heaters. A separate project focused on inspecting, monitoring and adjusting burners has also been carried out in the greenhouse sector.