Southeast Asian governments implemented work-from-home policies hoping to mitigate high energy costs resulting from the Iran conflict. However, analysts caution that the actual energy savings may be more complex than initially projected.

Governments across Southeast Asia have been banking on work-from-home arrangements for civil servants to ease the sting of soaring energy costs triggered by the Iran war, but analysts say the maths is messier than it may first appear. Indonesia estimates its Friday work-from-home policy, introduced on April 1, will save around 6.2 trillion rupiah (US$361.5 million) in state fuel subsidies and nearly 10 times that amount in total consumption. The Philippines has similarly introduced a four-day...