Iran’s Gas Supply Shutdown Exacerbates Iraq’s Electricity Crisis

Iraq has lost an estimated 5.5 gigawatts of electricity due to the cessation of the entire supply of Iranian gas, the Ministry of Electricity announced on Sunday, exacerbating the lack of gas supplies and the country's power outage crisis.

The ministry said in a statement quoted by the Iraqi News Agency (WAA), that it "will raise its coordination with the Ministry of Oil to compensate for the gas lost by the system," noting that it is "currently implementing its strategic and emergency plans to raise the capabilities of the national electrical system in all its sectors."

The ministry also revealed that it will re-work on projects that have been stalled and suspended for many years to obtain generational energies that were lost and untapped to improve production and raise its rates.

Iraq is suffering from severe electricity shortages as a result of insufficient fuel supplies for generating plants, prompting the government to diversify energy sources and boost its investments in domestic gas projects to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, such as Iran.

The entire suspension of Iranian gas supplies for 15 days of maintenance has damaged several areas, including Baghdad, the central region and the central provinces of the Euphrates.

According to the statement, gas supplies are scheduled to return on Sunday at 25 million cubic meters per day, but the actual quantities are still near only 7 million cubic meters, reaching from Baghdad and the center to the southern region.

This comes amid the electricity shortage crisis facing the country, according to Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadel, Iraq needs approximately 40,000 megawatts to operate electricity 24 hours a day, while producing only about 27,000 megawatts of electricity.