Iraq
Electricity crews from Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity carry out repairs on the national power grid in the southern province of Karbala on July 21, 2025. File photo: Ministry of Electricity/Facebook
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The head of the energy committee in the Nineveh provincial council says nearly 40 percent of the province’s electricity is being wasted due to illegal connections, warning that political interference continues to obstruct efforts to address the problem.
Widespread violations against the power grid have left local authorities unable to act effectively, Ahmed Abd Rabba, head of the province's energy committee, told Rudaw on Thursday.
“The provincial administration is powerless regarding the issue of violations against the power grid because whenever any measures are taken, the issue becomes politicized; some parties prevent the cutting of illegal connections to gain public support,” he said.
Abd Rabba explained that many of the illegal connections involve both private citizens and public spaces, straining the already limited electricity supply. He added that Nineveh’s total electricity allocation stands at around 1,300 megawatts, of which approximately 300 to 400 megawatts are purchased from the Kurdistan Region.
He praised the Kurdistan Region’s Runaki project and expressed hope that a similar initiative could be implemented in Nineveh.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) flagship Runaki - “light” in Kurdish - project aims to provide uninterrupted electricity to residents across the Region. According to the Region’s Ministry of Electricity, 70 percent of residents are currently benefiting from the service, with all citizens expected to be included in the project by the end of next year.
Abd Rabba stressed that differences in public behavior remain a major obstacle in resolving shortages of power in the province.
“In the Kurdistan Region, people pay their electricity bills regularly, but in Nineveh and Iraq in general, the commitment to paying for electricity is low,” he said.
Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, particularly during the summer and winter when demand reaches its highest. The Iraqi government heavily relies on gas imports from Iran to generate a portion of its electricity.
Since Tuesday, Iran has halted its gas exports to Iraq, which are used to operate power generation plants across the country.
Ahmed Moussa, spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, told Rudaw on Tuesday that "the pumping of Iranian gas has stopped entirely, resulting in the loss of 4,000 to 4,500 megawatts from the electrical system," adding that the disruption has had a direct impact on daily power supply hours.
Iran was a significant supplier of the gas needed for Iraq’s power plants. As a result of the cutoff, national electricity production has dropped from 22,000 megawatts to around 17,000 megawatts.
Moussa said the federal Ministry of Electricity is currently coordinating with the Ministry of Oil to provide alternative domestic fuel to keep power plants running, but cautioned against relying on this solution in the long term.
“We cannot rely on this forever.”
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