Water shortage is causing a major electricity crisis, official says

Water shortage is causing a major electricity crisis, official says
2021-06-30T09:07:00+00:00

Shafaq News/ Electric power production in Darbandikhan Dam in al-Sulaymaniyah has declined due to the water shortage crisis.

 The director of Darbandikhan Dam told Shafaq News Agency, "Due to the lack of water flow and rain this year, the water level decreased to 11 meters, compared to last year, which led to a power outage in the Kurdistan Region by up to 80%."

 He continued, "The level of electricity supply last year was up to 100 megawatts, while it currently has reached 15 megawatts."

 The Minister of Water Resources in the Iraqi government, Mahdi Al-Hammadi, had announced at the end of last May, that Iran had blocked the water flow towards Iraqi territory.

 The minister said at the time in a press conference;  "There are no water cuts by Turkey...but Iran's cuts have caused water flow to decrease in the Dukan Dam by 70%, and zero percent in the Darbandikhan dam."

 Al-Hammadi added;  "We will work to negotiate with the Iranian side and discuss the water problem next week, which is an important issue and it must be addressed quickly."

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