Diyala hit by power outages as Iranian lines cut
Shafaq News/ Residents in Iraq's Diyala faced power outages on Tuesday after two major electricity lines supplying Iranian power to the governorate were cut unexpectedly, according to a government source.
The source, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, said the reason for the outage remains unknown. The disruption resulted in a loss of over 250 megawatts of power, significantly impacting electricity supply across the governorate.
Diyala relies heavily on Iranian electricity imports to meet its energy needs. The province imports power through two lines: the Karmanshah-Diyala line and the Sarpol Zahab-Khanqin line, with a combined capacity of 550 megawatts. However, Diyala's total electricity demand exceeds 900 megawatts.
Decades of war have left the country's infrastructure in a pitiful state, with power cuts worsening the blistering summer when temperatures often reach 50 Celsius mostly in southern governorates.
Iraq is the second-largest oil producer in the OPEC cartel, but despite having immense oil and gas reserves, it remains dependent on imports to meet its energy needs.
Neighboring Iran supplies about a third of its power sector requirements.
Many households have just a few hours of mains electricity per day, and those who can afford it use private generators to keep fridges and air conditioners running.
Anger over corruption, unemployment, and blackouts helped to fuel deadly protests from late 2019 to mid-2020.
The protests morphed into an unprecedented anti-government movement, mostly across southern Iraq and in Baghdad, before a security crackdown killed more than 600 people.
