Electricity line to connect Turkey, Iraq via Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Electricity has announced the start of a project establishing a power line to connect federal Iraq with Turkey through the Kurdistan Region’s electricity network.

In a statement, the ministry said that the 400 KV electric power line transmission project will link Iraq with Turkey. 

Electricity Minister Omid Ahmed told state media on Sunday that Iraq’s purchase of electricity from Turkey addresses “the problems of voltage and load on the Kurdistan region's electricity network."

On April 27, the Iraqi Council of Ministers raised electric power imports by 300 megawatt. https://www.ina.iq/124609--.html

Turkey started exporting electricity to Iraq on December 28 via Khutobi-Zakho for a period of 11 months, after the energy trading company “Aksa Aksen” granted a license to export 150 Megawatts of electricity to Iraq from December 28 to November 1, 2021.

Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, keenly felt when summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees Celsius, caused by multiple factors, including poor government delivery of services, rampant corruption, terror attacks on the power grid, and Iran’s recent cuts of electricity and gas exports because of unpaid debts.

The Minister of Electricity recently resigned after prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded his dismissal and started a Twitter campaign protesting power shortages.