Iraq loses 25% of its power output

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is generating about 25 percent less electricity due to a decrease in gas imports from Iran and renovations of power stations ahead of winter, the electricity ministry said on Wednesday.

“Iran has decreased the daily export of gas to Iraq from 30 million cubic meters to 18… resulting in the decrease of 2,200 megawatts of electricity [production],” Ahmed Musa, spokesperson for Iraq’s electricity ministry, told Rudaw.

The reason for the reduced gas exports is that Iran is renovating its pipelines in preparation for winter, Musa said.

Iraq’s electricity grid has depended on gas imports from Iran for years. In July last year, the country lost nearly 5,000 megawatts of power when Iran halted exports to the southern regions and decreased them to Baghdad and central Iraq.

Musa said that the amount of domestic gas supplied by the oil ministry to Iraq’s power stations has also decreased. Additionally, the electricity ministry is renovating some of its power stations ahead of winter.

The combination of these factors has led to a total loss of 7,000 megawatts from the grid, leaving Iraq’s power output at 19,000 megawatts, he said.

In July, Musa told Rudaw that Iraq generates 27,450 megawatts of electricity, which is 19,000 megawatts short of the required load. Eighty percent of the country's power plants rely on gas.

Iraq’s council of ministers approved an increase in the electricity ministry’s budget by 300 billion dinars (around $230 million) in early July, to go towards “projects addressing urgent distribution network issues” and equipment.

Despite its large oil and gas reserves, Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages,

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has repeatedly said improving the energy sector is a priority of his cabinet and that Baghdad seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in its gas supply and end imports within the next five years.

In July 2023, Baghdad and TotalEnergies put pen to paper on a $27 billion contract to develop Iraq’s oil, gas, and renewable energies sectors - a major step towards gas self-sufficiency.


Nahro Mohammed contributed to this report.