Electricity supply rises to 20 hours per day in Iraq
Electricity transmission towers. Photo: Al-Arabiya News
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced on Sunday that electricity supply rose to 20 hours per day in 2023, using gas supplies from Iraqi fields to generate energy.
The spokesperson of the Electricity Ministry, Ahmed Musa, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that energy supply hours rose to 20 compared to 13 hours in the same period of 2022, with some issues that will soon be tackled.
Musa added that since some Iraqi power plants run on locally generated fuel, the low gas imports from Iran have no significant impact on the country’s grid.
The Iraqi official indicated that the Ministry of Oil continues to support the Ministry of Electricity.
The ministry’s spokesperson also confirmed that many power plants, particularly in southern Iraq, operate using fuel produced in Iraq.
Iraq heavily relies on gas imports from Iran but has recently invested in many projects to start taking advantage of flared gas and using renewable energy to generate electricity.
Gas imports from Iran are extremely important for Iraq to generate electricity. However, US sanctions imposed on Iran make it difficult for Baghdad to pay for the Iranian gas.
Iraq witnesses daily power outages that may last up to 10 hours, but things worsen during the scorching summer when the temperature exceeds 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
The main reason behind the frequent power outages in Iraq is the deterioration of the infrastructure, which has not been renovated for decades due to conflicts, corruption, and mismanagement.