Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Parliamentary Electricity and Energy Committee will host Electricity Minister Ali Wahib and senior ministry officials next week over the ministry’s strategic plan and preparations for 2027, with a focus on power losses.

Committee member Noura Al-Juhaishi told Shafaq News that the ministry currently generates 22,000 megawatts, but only about 10,000 MW reaches consumers. The rest goes to informal settlements, shopping malls, factories, and industrial facilities through unauthorized connections, she said, calling the losses a waste of public funds and a source of corruption.

Eco Iraq, an economic affairs monitor, estimates that Iraq loses about 55% of its electricity output due to unauthorized connections and illegal grid use.

Iraq’s electricity sector faces a severe supply shortage, with demand reaching about 60,000 MW. Chronic outages worsen during the summer, when temperatures regularly exceed 50°C, leaving millions of Iraqis dependent on private generators.

Read more: Electricity output covers only one-third of Iraq's demand