Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's national power grid remains dependent on purchased electricity from investment projects and neighboring countries for 41 percent of its supply, while hydroelectric generation has fallen by nearly half due to a worsening water scarcity crisis, the Eco Iraq economic monitor stated on Saturday.

The monitor explained that the findings were based on an analysis of the Ministry of Electricity's 2025 annual statistical report, which showed Iraq's total electricity production last year reached approximately 170 million megawatt-hours (170,123,456 megawatt-hours).

Government-owned power stations run by the Ministry of Electricity, including gas, steam, hydroelectric and diesel plants, accounted for 59 percent of the country's total energy output, according to the monitor.

Eco Iraq noted that the ministry's report showed hydroelectric output fell by 50.8 percent, dropping from about 3.48 million megawatt-hours in 2024 to roughly 1.71 million megawatt-hours in 2025. It attributed the decline to a drought crisis and falling water levels in dams and river tributaries.

The report also revealed other technical challenges, the monitor added, including a drop in thermal efficiency at some gas and steam plants to below 20 percent, along with power stations and transmission lines going out of service for months at a time due to delayed maintenance and shortages of spare parts.

The Ministry of Electricity has attributed the decline in power supply hours to several factors, including reduced gas supplies and unauthorized withdrawals from the electricity grid, at a time when most provinces are experiencing widespread power outages.