Iraq is racing to improve electricity service in time for summer — and reduce dependence on Iranian energy imports — with new cross-border tie lines, more generation capacity, and initiatives to rein in demand.
The Electricity Ministry says long-term plans are on schedule to meet public need, though power protests in Kirkuk and extended blackouts in Baghdad raise the specter of worsening electricity shortages this summer.
Power blackouts throughout Iraq threaten to cause new bouts of social unrest over chronic failures to build adequate domestic gas and electricity supply.
Iraq’s electricity plans can address the country’s chronic power problems, says Iraq legal expert David Lockhart – but only if government officials can work together to implement them.
Karim Waheed Hasan talks about increasing the power supply but being outpaced by demand, disputes with other ministries, worsening security and sectarianism and politics.
Basra leaders accused the Electricity Ministry of incompetence after a two-day blackout incited angry residents to protest, amidst 131-degree heat.
Those who can’t afford expensive generators or the fuel to run them suffer the greatest discomforts and dangers of Iraq’s extreme summer heat.
Baghdad suffers the worst of fuel shortages, as heat wave overwhelms Iraq’s electrical grid and drives demand for generator fuel.
New efforts to charge consumers for power could reduce consumption, increase state revenues, and alleviate budget pressures – but they are proving a very hard sell.
Weekend protests – killing at least one and injuring more – are continuing Monday, as Iraq’s political and electricity problems come to a head.
Electricity Ministry will only minimally improve power supply this summer, amidst ongoing protests over government service failures.
Iraq's new electricity minister discusses fast-track power plans, Siemens and GE, and the myth vs. reality of the Trump administration's lobbying for American companies.
Amid a heat wave of protests and politics, the resigning electricity minister’s portfolio will go to the oil minister, though electricity officials deny the hand-over will take place.
The government is seeking stopgap solutions to major blackouts that have sparked protests in southern Iraq.
Iraq's Kurdish region is meeting nearly all its power needs by investing in natural gas fields – and, in a strategic calculation, it's willing to share.
Severe electricity shortages come at a politically sensitive time, highlighting the chronic weakness of Iraq's energy infrastructure and its over-reliance on Iranian imports.
Iraq is racing to upgrade transmission infrastructure and improve electricity service in the south in time for next summer.
Iraq's electricity service has suffered amidst unreliable gas and power imports from Iran, but efforts are moving slowly to diversify supply via four other neighboring countries due to unresolved pricing negotiations.
Politicians are bristling at contractual terms that many investors demand to help protect them from the dysfunction of Iraq’s investment climate.
A shut-down of transmission lines left millions without power for hours, reinforcing the grievances of a protest movement that has caused minor disruptions at oil sites.
Electricity Minister Kareem Wahid Hasan has resigned amid growing discontent with his handling of the country's chronic power shortages.
The Oil Ministry's point person for renewable energy discusses new solar projects, gas flaring reduction, and Iraq's Paris Agreement climate goals.
Iraq's government has announced that Thursday will be an official holiday due to a scorching heatwave. In a brief statement Wednesday, the Iraqi Cabinet said temperatures already have exceeded 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in some provinces. Meteorological officials warned of a heat wave in central and southern Iraq starting Wednesday through Friday. The heat wave […]
New cross-border lines promise to help underserved Anbar province as Iraq aims to diversify its electricity supply.
