Iraq’s Power Gride Faces More Setbacks As Summer Looms

  

Summer and its scorching heat is just around the corner for Iraq but its electrical grid is facing major difficulties.

 

First, the U.S.-Iran conflict has meant Tehran has once again cut its natural gas exports to Iraq. Before the war Baghdad was getting around 30 million cubic meters a day. By April that was down to just 5 million. 3500 megawatts of electricity production has been cut as a result. Perhaps with the ceasefire Iran will boost this amount but it has proven a completely unreliable partner which Iraq is dependent upon.

 

Next the war has cut off the country’s main export route through the Strait of Hormuz so most of its oil fields have stopped producing. That also means that natural gas which is a byproduct of this output is also dramatically down. The Electricity Ministry announced in April that domestic gas production was down over 50%. The Ministry was looking for alternative fuels to use at its power stations but not all of them are capable of changing over.

 

Third Baghdad has been working for months to build connections with neighboring states’ power grids. One to Turkey was supposed to provide 600 megawatts of electricity, one from the Gulf States 500 megawatts and one from Jordan another 150 megawatts. The line to the Gulf States has been postponed due to the Iran War.

 

Fourth there was a plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Basra. It was supposed to start operating in June to meet the summer demand but it is behind schedule and was then put on hold because of the instability in the Persian Gulf.

 

The Electricity Ministry was hoping to produce 30,000 megawatts this summer. Demand would be about 55,000 megawatts. With all these setbacks it is likely that power output will be much lower leading to more blackouts and planned outages as a result. The Iraqi government has consistently failed at providing its population with basic services because of poor planning and corruption. This is a glaring example.

 

SOURCES

 

Buratha News, “Ministry of Electricity: Regional events are affecting equipment and gas supplies, which do not exceed 15 million cubic meters,” 4/26/26

 

Iraq Oil Report, “Summer crisis looms as wartime disruptions hit Iraq’s power sector,” 4/30/26

 

Kurdistan 24, “Blackouts Loom for Iraq This Summer as Domestic Gas Collapses and Iranian Supply Falls Short,” 4/23/26

 

Al Mada, “LNG Project Delayed Until Next Year: Iraq’s Electricity Sector Faces Summer Test Without Support!” 5/12/26

 

Rudaw, “Baghdad plans to buy Kurdistan electricity to meet summer demand," 5/10/26

- “Iraq says regional power links to supply 1,250 MW before summer,” 4/28/26

 

Salem, Amr, “Iraq plans to generate 30,000 megawatts of electricity in summer,” Iraqi News, 4/23/26

- “Iraq’s electrical interconnection with Gulf States postponed,” Iraqi News, 5/12/26

- “Iraq’s electricity generation reduced by 3,500 megawatts,” Iraqi News, 4/6/26