Iraq to sign agreement with Iran to ensure electric power stability
Electric transmission towers. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced on Thursday it is seeking to sign an agreement with Iran to guarantee the stability of electric power in the country, the state news agency (INA) reported.
The Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Ziyad Ali Fadel, said that some power plants producing between six and seven thousand megawatts depend on gas imported from Iran, and these power plants contribute significantly to the electric power supply in Iraq.
Fadel clarified that Iraq is affected by the shortage of gas in Iran during the winter, and therefore the supply fluctuates at times.
Iraq paid all amounts due for the Iranian gas supply, according to Fadel.
The Iraqi minister added that he plans to visit Iran to meet with the Iranian Minister of Petroleum to reach a clear agreement that guarantees Iraq the quantities of gas supplied at a stable rate.
Fadel indicated that the agreement aims to avoid fluctuations in energy produced for the next summer, especially that there are important power plants in Baghdad, producing 4.5 thousand megawatts, depend entirely on the Iranian gas.
For more than one and a half decades, Iraq relied on Iran as a major energy supplier, while Iraqi officials face harsh criticism in the oil-rich country, where citizens suffer from frequent power outages.