Shafaq News- Basra

Basra, southern Iraq, has entered a scheduled electricity rationing system for the first time in years, receiving four hours of power supply followed by two hours of outages.

A technical source told Shafaq News that electricity generation in Basra reached 3,287 megawatts at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, while demand climbed to 3,596 megawatts, noting that the electricity import line from Iran remains out of service.

Basra has traditionally been exempt from Iraq’s scheduled power cuts due to its extreme summer temperatures and its strategic importance as the country’s main oil-producing province.

The shortfall between generation and demand prompted authorities to implement power rationing measures to maintain grid stability and prevent a potential collapse caused by excessive loads, the source added.

Basra Provincial Council member Sabah Al-Bazouni told Shafaq News that the local government opposes including the province in the rationing system, stressing that Basra’s electricity situation differs from that of other provinces due to significant investments made from local budgets in power projects over recent years.

Al-Bazouni acknowledged a clear decline in electricity supply hours and called on the federal government to take urgent steps to address the crisis, including exempting residents from electricity bills during the summer season.

Meanwhile, Basra witnessed growing calls in several northern and central districts for demonstrations demanding improved electricity supply and rapid solutions to the power crisis, as the province continues to endure extreme heat.

According to data from the Operations and Control Department at the Southern Control Center, gas supplies to the province have fallen from about 28 million cubic meters during the summer of 2025 to roughly 9 million cubic meters currently, alongside the suspension of imported gas supplies. As a result, electricity production has dropped from 6,700 megawatts to around 3,150 megawatts.

Power availability has also declined from a schedule of five hours of supply followed by one hour of outage last summer to the current four-hour supply and two-hour outage system, with further reductions expected during peak summer demand.

The highest supplied load reached 5,150 megawatts in the summer of 2025, the data showed, in addition to current supply ranging between 3,500 and 4,000 megawatts, while the province’s estimated demand is expected to reach 5,500 megawatts during the summer of 2026.