Iraq reports 7,100 MW loss amid gas supply shortages, urges energy conservation

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity revealed that the decrease in national gas supplies and imports from Iran to power generation stations resulted in a loss of 7,100 megawatts, urging citizens to “understand the circumstances” and conserve energy.

The ministry’s media office stated, “The cessation of 450 million cubic meters (MCM) of national gas in the south, due to seasonal maintenance work for 21 days by the Ministry of Oil’s teams, has restricted the load of stations in the southern region and central Euphrates by 1,500 MW.”

“Meanwhile, the reduction of Iranian gas from 30 MCM daily to 23 MCM has impacted the stations’ production in the central region by another 1,500 MW,” it affirmed. “Additionally, the shutdown of the Iranian power transmission lines (Mirsad-Diyala, Sarpol-e Zahab- Khanaqin, Karkheh-Amarah, Khorramshahr-Basra) led to a loss of 1,100 MW in the system.”

The office explained, “Due to the initiation of maintenance on generation units and preparations for the upcoming summer peak loads, approximately 3,000 MW have been taken offline, resulting in a total of 7,100 MW of the system’s load being halted, which has somewhat affected supply hours.”

There has been a significant decrease in electricity supply across various Iraqi governorates since Tuesday, resulting in prolonged power outages.

Notably, 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 continues to supply nearly a third of its power requirements.

The country needs 35,000 to 40,000 MW to provide electricity 24 hours a day without interruption. It has been suffering from a chronic electricity shortage for decades due to sanctions and consecutive wars. Residents have protested for years against the frequent power outages, especially during the summer, when temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius.