Iraq News Now

Shafaq News/ With temperatures dropping, Iraqisare braving another winter with erratic electricity supply, turning tomakeshift methods for warmth as they endure one of the country’s mostpersistent crises. “We’ve gone back to the Stone Age,” said Karbala residentUmm Alya, describing her struggle to heat water and stay warm without reliablepower.

Since the 1990s, Iraq has relied on scheduledpower cuts due to insufficient domestic electricity generation, with manyhouseholds depending on private generators to fill the gap.

To make up for the deficit, Iraq importselectricity and gas from Iran, which supplies 30-40% of the country’s energyneeds. However, the country faces difficulties in paying for these imports dueto US sanctions, which allow Iran to receive payments only for non-sanctionedgoods such as food and medicine.

Meanwhile, Baghdad is pinning its hopes onelectricity grid connectivity projects with neighboring countries to securestable energy supplies without relying on imported fuels, especially given thevolatility of Iranian gas deliveries.

Iranian Gas Supply Halted

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced lastmonth that Iranian gas supplies to Baghdad and central and southern provinceswere fully suspended for 15 days due to maintenance work. This disruption ledto the shutdown of some power generation units and resulted in a reduction ofoutput from production plants, causing a loss of over 6,000 megawatts in thenational grid.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mousa told ShafaqNews that the suspension was due to ongoing maintenance in Iran. “Once completed,gas will be resumed at the previously agreed quantities.”

Mousa pointed out that Iraqi plants are preparedto operate at full capacity once sufficient gas and fuel are provided.

Regarding Iraq’s dependence on imported gas,Mousa explained that domestic gas production is insufficient to meet thecountry’s electricity needs, making imported gas crucial for sustaining powergeneration.

He also stated that the long-term solution liesin increasing reliance on domestic gas. “Unlike previous administrations, thegovernment, through the Ministry of Oil, is taking swift action to developnational gas resources. Several gas fields were included in Iraq’s fifthlicensing round, and exploitation is currently underway. A sixth licensinground also covered gas fields. However, domestic gas utilization will take 3 to5 years to fully address electricity needs, meaning imports will remainnecessary,” He explained.

Iraq Secures Turkmen Gas Supply

Bassem Al-Ghribawi, a member of the IraqiParliament’s Oil and Gas Committee, said that Iraq’s electricity crisis isdeeply rooted. He explained that many power plants rely solely on either gas orkerosene, both of which are in short supply in the country.

These plants should ideally operate on multiplefuel sources, he said.

In an interview with Shafaq News, Al-Ghribawiattributed the current power outages to the halt of Iranian gas supplies. “Toprevent similar crises in the future,” he noted, “efforts are underway todiversify Iraq’s gas import sources.”

On October 19, Iraq signed an agreement for thesupply of Turkmen gas, which outlines the delivery of 20 million cubic metersof gas per day. Swiss company Loxstone Energy will be responsible fortransporting the Turkmen gas to Iraq using Iran's pipeline network through aswap mechanism.

Mousa clarified that implementing this agreementrequires several procedural steps. “These include establishing credit for theTurkmen gas company with Iraqi chambers of commerce and depositing an advancepayment into the TPI account for the benefit of the Turkmen side.”

He confirmed that the Ministry of Electricity,in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Trade Bank of Iraq, iscurrently working to complete these procedures.

Iraq’s Electricity Crisis: Key Issues Identified

Energy expert Govand Sherwani outlined the coreissues of Iraq’s ongoing electricity crisis, identifying three main areas ofconcern.

First, the country currently generates around27,000 megawatts of electricity, according to the Ministry of Electricity.“However, peak demand can reach up to 45,000 megawatts, resulting in ashortfall of approximately 17,000 to 18,000 megawatts.”

Sherwani also highlighted deficiencies in thetransmission and distribution networks, which led to further losses. “While theMinistry of Electricity has worked to resolve technical faults and shutdowns,the gap between generation and demand remains substantial.”

“Despite efforts to import 50 million cubicmeters of Iranian gas daily under a five-year contract, and recent attempts tosecure gas from Turkmenistan, the imported gas only covers 10,000 megawatts,leaving the shortfall unresolved. The losses in generation, transmission, anddistribution exacerbate the deficit, making it difficult to bridge even withthese measures.”

Furthermore, the energy expert noted thatelectricity demand peaks during both summer and winter, with the latter seeinghigher energy consumption due to heating needs. This seasonal surge createseven greater demand and amplifies the existing shortfall. As such, herecommended that the Ministry of Electricity pursue two main courses of action.

“The first course involves repairing andupgrading transmission and distribution networks, as well as modernizing powerplants and building new ones in coordination with the Ministry of Oil to ensureadequate fuel, particularly natural gas.”

Natural gas, Sherwani explained, is the optimalfuel for power generation due to its cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and lowerenvironmental impact.

According to him, Iraq holds significant naturalgas reserves, estimated at 143 trillion cubic feet, yet only about 65% of thisresource is being utilized. “A large portion of gas, especially associated gasfrom oil fields, is flared rather than captured. If fully harnessed, this gascould address the electricity crisis and provide sufficient fuel for powerplants, significantly reducing the current shortfall.”

Sherwani’s second recommendation is for Iraq toinvest in renewable energy, particularly solar power. “With low setup costs,solar energy could rapidly provide substantial capacity, with the potential forbuilding large-scale plants of 1,000 megawatts each, covering more than a thirdof the shortfall within a year.”

These plants require minimal maintenance andfuel, and they can be quickly integrated into the national grid, Shirwanipointed out, arguing that even energy-sufficient nations, like the UAE andSaudi Arabia, are expanding solar energy capacity to export electricity toneighboring countries.

If sufficient domestic gas is made available,new power plants could be built, helping to address the current deficit, whichexceeds 15,000 megawatts.