Ministry of Energy Proposes Tiered Water Price Increase

Rahim Midani, the Deputy Minister of Energy for Water and Wastewater Affairs, on Tuesday, July 9, referred to the "critical water conditions" in Iran, stating: "It is necessary for the pricing situation to be organized, and for this reason, the Ministry of Energy has proposed a tiered water pricing system." According to ISNA news agency, he added: "The Sixth Development Plan has allowed us to gradually approach the cost price of water, and the government has the authority to permit this matter." This official emphasized that we must "gradually reach the cost price of water" and added that water prices should "increase tiered by every five cubic meters, in a way that high consumers are penalized and low consumers are rewarded." The Deputy Minister of Energy considered the implementation of the water price increase contingent upon the decision of the Economic Council and stated: "The Ministry of Energy seeks to make water prices realistic because we believe that if we want to provide suitable services to subscribers, we must organize the economy of water." Rahim Midani pointed out what he called the "advantages of making water prices realistic," adding: "If this issue is resolved, the government's ability to attract private investors will also be enhanced, and water can be provided to subscribers as a commodity." According to him, in this case, many of the problems in the water sector will be resolved. Previously, Hamid Chitchian, the Minister of Energy, on June 9, emphasized the necessity of charging service fees from water and electricity subscribers, stating that it is essential to move towards "realistic pricing" in the twelfth government. According to ISNA, he announced that "if prices increase slightly," it would not cause problems for the people, adding: "With the realization of water and electricity prices, a lot of employment can be created. Additionally, by implementing more water and wastewater projects, we can pursue the development of health, hygiene, income, and overall welfare of the country." ISNA reported on June 19, referring to the implementation of the targeted subsidy law since 2010, that water prices were supposed to gradually increase over five years to reach their real prices by 2015, which should have been executed and offered to the people at non-subsidized and real prices, but this has not yet been realized. ISNA added that water is offered at a price between 400 to 450 tomans instead of the cost price of 1000 tomans, meaning that "only 50 percent of the costs are collected by the Ministry of Energy." According to Tasnim news agency, Rahim Midani stated on July 6 that with the intensification of the water crisis in Iran, this issue has become a "security issue" and has therefore been raised in the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added that with the continued "inappropriate management" of water and damage to surface and groundwater resources, securing water for agriculture and drinking in the future will be "very challenging." This news was published a week after Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, announced on July 1 that a "Water Security Committee" had been formed in this commission. In this regard, according to ISNA, Shahrokh Fateh, the head of the Drought and Crisis Management Center of the Meteorological Organization, announced on Sunday, July 9, that 95 percent of Iran's territory is affected by drought. Gary Lewis, the UN Development Program resident representative in Iran, had previously told Reuters that the water shortage has now become the main human security challenge in Iran.