Iraq Faces 38,000 MW Power Gap as Annual Costs Reach 49 Trillion Dinars; Parliament Orders Electricity Corruption Probe

Peregraf — Iraq requires 60,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to meet nationwide demand but is currently generating only 22,000 MW, Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Waheeb told parliament on Monday, attributing the shortfall to fuel shortages, damaged infrastructure, and disruptions in gas supplies.

Addressing lawmakers during a parliamentary session on the country’s electricity crisis, Waheeb said Iraq’s available generation capacity had fallen from 27,000 MW after several power plants went offline because of reduced fuel supplies from the Kurdistan Region and Turkey, the suspension of gas deliveries from the Khor Mor gas field, and a fire that forced the Al-Amarah power station out of service. 

He said electricity losses have reached 60% because of unauthorized connections and encroachments on the transmission network, describing the figure as exceptionally high by international standards.

The minister said the Electricity Ministry’s annual expenditures total about 49 trillion Iraqi dinars, including 21.9 trillion dinars for fuel, 11.6 trillion dinars for electricity purchased from local investors, 8.5 trillion dinars for employee salaries, 4.2 trillion dinars for maintenance, and 2.8 trillion dinars for electricity imports from Turkey and other countries.

Waheeb said Baghdad is working with the United States on payment mechanisms for Iranian gas imports and has dispatched a delegation to Turkey to restore the 600 MW electricity interconnection between the two countries. He added that restoring full gas supplies from the Khor Mor field would recover around 1,600 MW of generation capacity once the facility is secured.

The minister said the government aims to increase national generation capacity to 35,000 MW by 2030, including plans to add 7,000 MW through new projects. He also cited agreements with GE and regional electricity interconnection projects with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of Iraq’s long-term strategy.

Following the session, parliament approved a series of recommendations, including opening corruption investigations into all Electricity Ministry contracts dating back to 2005, reviewing investment contracts lacking technical or economic feasibility, expanding renewable energy projects, introducing subsidized loans for household solar systems, improving grid integration for renewable energy, ensuring adequate fuel supplies to power plants, and establishing a multi-committee parliamentary body to oversee implementation.

Lawmakers also directed the Oil and Energy Committee to summon the Oil Minister to review plans for increasing gas supplies to electricity generation stations.