By Tom Fairless, Bertrand Benoit and Tripti Lahiri
Governments around the world are pressuring consumers to reduce energy use in one of the broadest efforts to alter fuel-consumption habits since the 1970s, as the Iran war drives oil-and-gas prices sharply higher.
The changes are being rolled out as a mix of voluntary acts, soft restrictions and incentives to cut demand. But the policies are multiplying and growing more constraining as the crisis continues.
The war has closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally caters to about 20% of global oil consumption, causing the biggest supply shock in the history of the oil market, according to the International Energy Agency.
Surges in oil and natural-gas prices have put sharp pressure even on countries that don't import energy from the Middle East. With prices of derivative products such as jet fuel and liquefied natural gas also affected, the economic fallout is already percolating down -- even for energy exporters such as the U.S.
So far, the energy-saving proposals are most acute in Asia, which relies heavily on the Middle East for supplies. Sri Lanka has instituted a four-day workweek for state institutions and schools, and has started rationing fuel. Pakistan has moved to close schools for two weeks.
Bangladesh has banned the use of air conditioning to cool buildings under 77 degrees and ordered universities to close. The Maldives and Nepal are rationing the supply of liquefied petroleum gas -- popular for cooking -- urging households to switch to electric stoves.
After India restricted LPG supplies this month, catering companies were forced to prune their offerings for weddings and other parties -- or find other fuels, such as charcoal and wood. After a jump in sales, many electric-induction-stove brands are now out of stock on sites like Amazon.
In Thailand, TV presenters removed their blazers on air recently in an effort to encourage citizens to turn down the air conditioning. Civil servants have been told to work from home, use stairs instead of elevators and wear lighter clothing instead of suits. State energy company PTT said it would turn off all lights during lunch breaks and after 7 p.m.
Taken together, the spurt of energy-saving policies doesn't yet match those of the 1970s, when turmoil in the Middle East led to fuel shortages that prompted President Jimmy Carter to go on TV wearing a cardigan to urge Americans to turn down their thermostats.
That partly reflects changes in the economy, such as more energy-efficient machinery and cars, a greater stock of oil supplies and a broader range of alternative energy sources.
Still, some policies are politically fraught. In the Philippines, transport federation Piston, whose members include tens of thousands of drivers and operators of the Philippines' signature diesel-powered jeepney buses, called for the suspension of value-added and excise taxes and a fare hike in a protest this week.
Energy-price increases or fuel restrictions have often in the past triggered broad public opposition, from the Yellow Vest protests in France to the 2022 Sri Lanka protests that toppled the government. Europe's energy crisis following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine increased political instability.
After the Iran war broke out, several countries' first reaction was to cap or lower energy prices to soften the impact on consumers. Germany said it would ban gas stations from raising prices more than once a day -- they can still lower them as often as they want -- and France threatened to fine those found inflating prices.
Hungary has capped fuel prices, while Poland's main refiner has cut its margins to reduce the hit to consumers. Portugal on Thursday approved a bill allowing it to temporarily cap electricity prices for households and most businesses, but said the current market prices were well below the level that would trigger its use.
Yet economists have warned that measures aimed at supporting demand could exacerbate the crisis.
"Supply-side measures alone cannot fully offset the scale of the disruption," the IEA wrote on Friday. "Addressing demand is a critical and immediate tool to reduce pressure on consumers."
The agency issued advice to governments, businesses and households to limit consumption. Employees should work from home, refrain from flying and use public transport, it said. Governments should lower the speed limit on highways by 6.2 miles an hour and enforce car sharing. Transportation accounts for 45% of global oil consumption, according to the IEA.
In Europe, Slovakia's government on Wednesday allowed service stations to limit diesel sales, and set higher prices for cars with foreign plates as it clamps down on fuel tourism and hoarding.
The U.K.'s Energy Ministry recently issued new recommendations that pubs and other hospitality businesses turn their bottle fridges off overnight, prompting a backlash from some industry officials against "warm beer."
The oil shock hasn't only spurred governments and consumers to action. Some unscrupulous businesses are seeing it as an opportunity. Since the war started, authorities from Germany to Indonesia have reported a surge in advertising for fuel-saving devices, from USB dongles to fuel additives and even magnets that purport to align fuel molecules for better combustion efficiency, most with no measurable effect.
ADAC, Germany's largest automobile club, warned against using so-called fuel-saving onboard diagnosis dongles, saying it had recently tested one that "blinks and somehow looks like it is doing something. It isn't."
Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com, Bertrand Benoit at bertrand.benoit@wsj.com and Tripti Lahiri at tripti.lahiri@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2026 11:00 ET (15:00 GMT)
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