“There are two different connections, the first Turkish, and this has been technically completed 100%, and we have obtained official approvals, and we are waiting for Iraq's need for energy in the summer to supply 500 megawatts to the northern governorates,” Ahmed Mousa told Iraqi state media.
The Iraqi ministry has been working on increasing electricity supply for quite some time.
Turkey started exporting electricity to Iraq on December 28 via Khutobi-Zakho for a period of 11 months, after the energy trading company “Aksa Aksen” granted a license to export 150 Megawatts of electricity to Iraq from December 28 to November 1, 2021.
In an attempt to diversify its sources, Iraq reached an agreement with Jordan in 2020, allowing Baghdad to import electricity from Jordan.
The agreement signed between Jordan and Iraq would pave the way for Baghdad to import 150 megawatts from Jordan starting late 2022.
“Work on this linking was referred to the General Electric Company, and the ministry urged to complete the work within a quick timeframe,” Mousa said regarding the deal with Jordan.
In 2019, Iraq signed a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) aiming to increase the electricity supply in Iraq and push Baghdad to be less dependent on Iranian energy. Under the plan that is yet to be implemented, Iraq was expected to import 500 megawatts of electricity from Gulf countries on the payroll of the GCCIA before this summer. However, due to the spread of the coronavirus and the global economic crisis, implementation was delayed.
Addressing the implementation of the deal, Mousa said that “the Gulf connection is 88% complete, and we need to know the tariff price for the line that connects Al-Faw station with the Al-Zour station in Kuwait, and our meetings are periodic with the Gulf side."
Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, especially felt when summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees Celsius, caused by multiple factors, including poor government delivery of services, rampant corruption, and terror attacks on the power grid.
Last year, Mousa noted that Iraq needs 50 million cubic meters of gas per day in winter, and 70 million per day in the summer, to cope with the increase in demand for electricity.
Electricity provision is a problem across Iraq, and power lines are frequently subjected to attacks, which are often blamed on the Islamic State (ISIS).
In June, the Iraqi electricity minister resigned following a Twitter campaign against the power shortages across Iraq started by prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
