Accidental Fire, Act of Sabotage Cut off Electricity from All of Iraq

The Ministry of Electricity in Iraq announced, on Saturday, a power outage throughout the country, following an accidental fire at a station in Basra Governorate, in the south of the country, and an act of sabotage in Salah al-Din Governorate, in the north.

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity issued a statement stating that an accidental fire at the Al-Bakr secondary substation caused the disconnection of the southern region lines and exposed the system to complete extinguishing.

The accident led to the breakdown of transmission lines, such as the connections of the southern region to the central region, and thus the rise in system frequencies and the separation of generating units at production stations.

The ministry reviewed the current conditions that electricity is going through in Iraq, describing it as "difficult", due to the scarcity of fuel, the increasing demand for consumption, and the unprecedented high temperatures.

On the other hand, the General Company for Northern Electricity Transmission said that an act of sabotage targeted a power line in Salah al-Din, which led to a power outage.

The company said that "the line was exposed to the detonation of explosive devices on several towers, which led to the fall of 3 of them."