Electricity shortages made worse by pandemic, financial crisis
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Electricity shortages are nothing new in the Kurdistan Region where neglected infrastructure struggles to keep pace with development. Now the supply has been cut by a further 700 megawatts as a result of government reforms, the coronavirus outbreak, and the financial crisis.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reforms to the gas sector had cut production at the very moment the coronavirus outbreak and the collapse of world oil prices disrupted supply and sent the economy into a tailspin.
Now homes and businesses across the Region head into another blistering hot summer reliant on noisy and polluting private generators for consistent power.
“The production of electricity has decreased from 3,200 megawatts to 2,500 megawatts due to the financial crisis, a lack of fuel, reforms in some gas stations in Erbil and Chamchamal, and the closure of Khabat power station due to the return of its company staff to Korea due to [the spread of] coronavirus,” the KRG’s ministry of electricity said Sunday.
The Kurdistan Region economy was dealt another body blow in late-April when Baghdad withdrew the KRG’s share of the federal budget, leaving many civil servants without pay.
“This decrease in production coincides with a rise in demand for electricity,” the ministry said, as homes and businesses fire up their air conditioners to cope with the fast approaching summer heatwave. The ministry “is in touch with the Council of Ministers to resolve the issue.”
Shortages are also common in southern and central Iraq, where regular and prolonged power cuts during the summer months often spark violent unrest.
The newly-inaugurated prime minister of Iraq, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, visited the federal ministry of electricity on Sunday to highlight his commitment to addressing the shortages.
“There are real challenges in front of this country, including the electricity, which are caused by mismanagement in Iraq,” he said in a statement published by his office.