Shafaq News / Considering the current state of the power system and its interruption during the hottest time of the year in Iraq, it appears that the "dream" of Iraqi citizens to enjoy uninterrupted energy in the summer has turned into a fantasy despite the ministry's pledges.

The hours of interruption have reached roughly 18 hours and more in some areas for several days, according to complaints from citizens in the capital Baghdad and many governorates. They have urged the government to find suitable solutions to this crisis, which has plagued the nation for years.

Citizen Hassanein Aref told Shafaq News Agency that "most areas of Baghdad suffer from national power outages," noting that "processing does not exceed 6 hours per day."

He expressed his surprise about "Iraq's import of electricity from neighboring countries until today despite allocating billions of dollars for the electrical system," wondering where are "the production stations that were built during the past years and where the money that was spent on electricity all these years go without solving the electricity problem."

In turn, citizen Mohammed Jawad said that "the government has become unable to find a solution to the chronic electricity problem," pointing out that "the pledges of the government and the Ministry of Electricity are completely futile."

He added that "Iraq spent billions of dollars on electricity throughout these years to no avail," stressing that "the money went to the pockets of the corrupt and not to the reconstruction of the electricity system."

Economist Dhurgham Mohamed Ali stated that "the supply of electricity depends on three factors, the first of which is the available generation capacity and securing the necessary fuel, the second is the efficiency of the transmission and distribution network and reducing violations on it, and the third is the efficient maintenance of generating units before the peak season."

He added that there is "a defect in two factors; the inefficiency of the distribution and transport network due to abuses, and the second is in securing sufficient fuel to operate the stations, most of which operate on the simple cycle, wasting fuel and increasing carbon emissions."

"The required treatments are to use full cycle in stations and speed up the investment of free gas associated with methane and ethane, which constitute dry gas required to operate the stations, in addition to granting loans to purchase solar power generation systems and using them first in state institutions to secure clean energy, even if it is for lighting and uses other than air conditioning. Such a step will make a difference in the volume of consumption."

For his part, economist Mohammed al-Hasani considered that "electricity in Iraq cannot be solved in the near future in light of the confusion and corruption in the Ministry of Electricity," stressing that "what the Ministry of Electricity is working on, linking the system to neighboring countries, does not solve the problem and is a halfhearted solution."

He continued that "the best solution to the electricity dilemma in Iraq is the formation of a specialized committee from the Council of Ministers in cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity and refer this file to major international companies, like German Siemens or American General," adding that "Iraq will continue to suffer from this problem as long as it lacks the fuel necessary to operate its electrical stations."

It is noteworthy that Iraq relies heavily on Iranian gas imports to feed the system, as the country generates about 14,000 megawatts, in addition to nearly 4000 megawatts from imported gas and energy.

Iraq is also in talks with Gulf nations, led by Saudi Arabia, to link its local grid with the Gulf system in order to import electricity from them. Previously, the country was solely dependent on Iran for 1,200 megawatts of electricity as well as gas fuel to operate its local power plants.

Furthermore, Iraq plans to import electricity from Jordan and Turkey, in an effort from Baghdad to fill the shortage until power plants are built that will be able to meet domestic consumption.

Moreover, Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadhel admitted that "there is a large deficit of more than 50% of the stations’ total production currently."

Fadhel revealed that the total deficit in the country amounts to about 13,000 megawatts, stressing that "there are many challenges facing the sector in addition to oil crises and distribution networks that do not cover all governorates."

Iraq has been suffering from a chronic electricity shortage crisis for decades due to the blockade and successive wars. The people have been demonstrating for many years on frequent power cuts, especially in the Iraqi scorching summer, as temperatures sometimes reach 50 degrees Celsius.