Baghdad: Minister of Electricity Ali Saadi Wahib has announced a significant drop in Iraq’s electricity production, which currently stands at 22,000 megawatts, in stark contrast to the country’s demand of 60,000 megawatts.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Minister Wahib, during his recent appearance before Parliament, outlined the pressing issues affecting the Ministry’s ability to produce and distribute electricity. He attributed the decline in power generation to several factors, including fuel shortages from the Kurdistan Region and Turkey, which have taken some power plants offline. The output has decreased from a previous capacity of 27,000 megawatts, with an additional loss of 3,000 megawatts due to halted gas supplies and fire damage at the Amarah power plant.
The Minister highlighted that illegal connections to transmission lines have resulted in a 60% power loss, a figure that surpasses global energy standards. He also discussed the Iraqi delegation’s recent visits to the United States and Turkey, aimed at securing mechanisms for settling outstanding payments to Iran for imported gas and re-establishing electricity interconnection with Turkey, respectively.
Minister Wahib also addressed the security threats in the Kormo field, which have halted gas supply, emphasizing the need to secure the field to restore a 1,600 megawatts output. He disclosed that the Ministry’s financial allocation for operational and investment budgets over the past three years was more than 48 trillion dinars and 5.8 trillion dinars, respectively.
The Minister proposed that investment projects should source independent electricity until demand decreases, and emphasized the need for legislative action on electricity tariff collection. He called for investment in electricity at the governorate level, with strict timelines for improving the power supply. He also mentioned ongoing efforts to diversify electricity production sources and a government plan to add 7,000 megawatts to the grid by 2030, aiming to achieve a total of 35,000 megawatts.
Additionally, the Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with American company GE to enhance energy levels and is focusing on electrical interconnections with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The Ministry is also exploring alternative solutions with the Ministry of Oil until regional stability is achieved.
The Ministry’s Undersecretary for Production Affairs noted that the annual maintenance plan, which runs from mid-September to April, targets 15,000 megawatts across all power stations. However, maintenance at the Wasit power station has been exempted due to current regional challenges.