SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday for Iranian gas supplies to Iraq to resume, Iraqi Electricity Minister Adil Karim said.
An Iraqi delegation led by the electricity ministry visited Tehran on Tuesday to discuss the resumption of gas supplies for Iraq’s power.
The Iraqi minister said the federal agreement would begin repaying debts owed to Tehran, according to the state news agency.
In December 2021, the electricity ministry said the reduction in Iranian gas supplies had caused a power loss of around 3,400 megawatts.
The delegation’s visit came after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi directed the electricity minister to form a high-level delegation to visit Tehran for talks on Iranian gas supplies.
The country buys gas and electricity from neighboring Iran to supply about a third of its power sector, which has been worn down by years of conflict and poor maintenance, and is unable to meet the needs of the country’s 40 million population.
Oil-rich Iraq produces just 16,000 megawatts of power – far below the 24,000 megawatts needed, and even further from the expected future needs of a country whose population is set to double by 2050, according to the U.N.
The failure of Iraq’s power system is particularly acute in the baking hot summer months, often a time of social protest exacerbated by electricity shortages, when temperatures shoot past 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
