Major Power Outage In Central And Southern Iraq, People Suffer In Extreme Heat
Temperatures in the capital Baghdad reach 47 degrees Celsius
A major power outage occurred in central and southern Iraq on Monday, attributed to the sudden shutdown of the Hamidiya power plant in the western province of Anbar.
The technical failure affected the entire electricity transmission system, while temperatures in the capital Baghdad reached 47 degrees Celsius. Fortunately, the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region was spared from the crisis.
According to sources in the Ministry of Electricity, the shutdown of the Hamidiya power plant caused a major fault in the national grid, which disrupted power supply for several hours. The ministry told the state news agency that work is underway in “full emergency mode” to restore power.
The power crisis in Iraq is not a new problem. Government-provided power usually does not come for more than a few hours a day, which has led to citizens relying on private diesel generators for years. In recent years, some have also turned to solar systems as an alternative.
The chairman of the Iraqi parliament’s energy committee told Reuters that the shutdown had not affected the Kurdistan Region. The oil ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Iraq is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and one of the world’s largest crude exporters, but mismanagement, corruption and underinvestment in the energy sector since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 have weakened its electricity infrastructure. The national grid is struggling to keep up with rising demand, especially during the summer months when temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius.
The situation has been a source of public anger. In the summer of 2021, hundreds of people took to the streets in several cities, including Baghdad, to protest severe power and water shortages as temperatures soared to 50 degrees Celsius during a heatwave across the country.
A major reason for the power shortage is Iraq’s reliance on Iranian gas, which fuels power plants. In March, the administration of US President Donald Trump ended a special waiver that Iraq had been granted to pay for electricity to Iran, as part of a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran. The decision further complicated Iraq’s energy crisis.
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