Shafaq News- Baghdad

Private generator owners across Iraq intend to shut down operations in early September over a “failure to implement” government support measures, Generators Union chief Durgham Al-Shuwaili told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Al-Shuwaili explained that Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi had directed authorities to provide gas oil to generator owners, including operators without existing fuel allocations, remove taxes and municipal fees, and allow generators a four-hour daily break.

The Oil Ministry instead set the September fuel allocation at 30 liters per KVA at 400 Iraqi dinars ($0.31) per liter, he said, with transport costs raising the delivered price to about 450 dinars ($0.34) per liter as national-grid outages reach about 18 hours a day.

In June, Al-Zaidi publicly directed authorities to support generator owners and facilitate fuel supplies, though the announced directive did not detail all the measures cited by Al-Shuwaili. On August 26, the Oil Ministry also reported that July and August allocations had been raised from 20 to 45 liters per KVA and distributed free of charge.

Ministry spokesperson Salim Al-Rikabi denied that the ministry imposed taxes on generator owners, noting that taxation falls under the Finance Ministry’s General Commission for Taxes. The Cabinet on August 24 postponed tax accounting for private generator owners until November 1.

Private generators remain a major backup source during Iraq’s power shortages. Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Wahib told parliament in July that the country needed about 60,000 megawatts while available generation stood at around 20,000 MW.

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