Kurdistan
A generator operator maintaining a neighbourhood generator in the Kurdistan Region. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah / Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Private generators in Sulaimani resumed operating on Saturday after the attack on Khor Mor gas field caused widespread power outages across the Kurdistan Region.
“Most generators have begun operating again, except those that may have technical problems,” Osman Mohammed, head of the Association of Private Generator Owners in Sulaimani, told Rudaw English.
They “were given the decision to operate” following an order from local authorities, he added.
The electricity supply across the Region dropped to about five hours a day after a drone strike on the Khor Mor field on Wednesday night ignited a fire and halted gas flows, leading to an estimated 80 percent drop in power production, according to the electricity ministry. There is no timeline for when power will be restored.
The electricity and natural resources ministries, along with Dana Gas which operates Khor Mor, are working to bring the field back online “so that natural gas production for power stations can restart as soon as possible,” the natural resources ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
“Most of the technical problems at Dana Gas’s Khor Mor field have been resolved,” it added.
Sulaimani’s private generators - around 570 units - will operate from 4 pm to midnight “until the electricity situation returns to normal,” Mohammed said, adding that “the payment method has not yet been clarified for us.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) began cancelling contracts for private generator operators in mid-November, Mohammed told Rudaw last week. Similar decisions were made affecting Erbil and Duhok. The contracts were cancelled as part of the government’s Runaki Project.
For years, households and businesses relied on costly, polluting diesel generators to cover daily power gaps. The Runaki Project aims to end reliance on more than 7,000 private generators by late 2026 by providing round-the-clock power on the national grid.
The Khor Mor gas field, located in Sulaimani’s Chamchamal district and operated by Pearl Petroleum - a consortium including Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum - has come under repeated attack in recent years. Kurdish officials have blamed the incidents on militia factions formally tied to Iraq’s security apparatus but operating outside Baghdad’s control.
Soran Hussein contributed to this report.
“Most generators have begun operating again, except those that may have technical problems,” Osman Mohammed, head of the Association of Private Generator Owners in Sulaimani, told Rudaw English.
They “were given the decision to operate” following an order from local authorities, he added.
The electricity supply across the Region dropped to about five hours a day after a drone strike on the Khor Mor field on Wednesday night ignited a fire and halted gas flows, leading to an estimated 80 percent drop in power production, according to the electricity ministry. There is no timeline for when power will be restored.
The electricity and natural resources ministries, along with Dana Gas which operates Khor Mor, are working to bring the field back online “so that natural gas production for power stations can restart as soon as possible,” the natural resources ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
“Most of the technical problems at Dana Gas’s Khor Mor field have been resolved,” it added.
Sulaimani’s private generators - around 570 units - will operate from 4 pm to midnight “until the electricity situation returns to normal,” Mohammed said, adding that “the payment method has not yet been clarified for us.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) began cancelling contracts for private generator operators in mid-November, Mohammed told Rudaw last week. Similar decisions were made affecting Erbil and Duhok. The contracts were cancelled as part of the government’s Runaki Project.
For years, households and businesses relied on costly, polluting diesel generators to cover daily power gaps. The Runaki Project aims to end reliance on more than 7,000 private generators by late 2026 by providing round-the-clock power on the national grid.
The Khor Mor gas field, located in Sulaimani’s Chamchamal district and operated by Pearl Petroleum - a consortium including Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum - has come under repeated attack in recent years. Kurdish officials have blamed the incidents on militia factions formally tied to Iraq’s security apparatus but operating outside Baghdad’s control.
Soran Hussein contributed to this report.
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