Exclusive: Iraq loses over 8,000 megawatts as Iran extends gas plant maintenance, says Electricity Ministry

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Moussa, announced that the Iranian side has informed the ministry of a two-week extension for the maintenance of gas plants in Iran.

In an exclusive statement to Shafaq News Agency, Moussa said, "Before Iran began maintenance on its gas-producing facilities, Iraq's production reached 26,000 megawatts. Less than a month ago, the Iranian side cut the gas supply to Iraq for maintenance on its facilities, which resulted in a loss of over 8,000 megawatts for Iraq."

He added, "A few days ago, we received a message from Iran stating that the maintenance period would be extended by another two weeks. The initial deadline was last Monday, but the Iranian side informed us that maintenance would continue. Once maintenance is complete, gas supply to Iraq will resume, which could be in the coming days, depending on the maintenance progress."

"Iraq's current production stands at around 15,800 megawatts, distributed fairly across Iraqi provinces based on hours of supply and outage."

Moussa emphasized that "some governors have criticized the ministry for the limited hours of supply compared to the provinces of Basra and Najaf, where supply hours range between 20 to 23 hours. These southern provinces rely on gas supplied from Iraqi oil and gas fields, while provinces like Diyala and other central and capital provinces, including Baghdad, receive between five to eight hours of supply, depending on Iranian gas. This disparity in supply is due to the reliance on Iranian gas."

"Approximately 5,000 megawatts of electricity from Iraqi stations are currently under maintenance to prepare them for the summer season when peak operating hours reach about 27,000 megawatts due to increased electricity demand."

He confirmed that "the resumption of Iranian gas supply in the coming days will help restart gas-dependent stations, stabilize supply, and increase supply hours in those provinces."