SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spends $1.7 million USD per day to meet households’ and businesses’ growing demand for electricity, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Sunday.
“Electricity demand across Kurdistan is growing, but this comes at a cost to the government’s finances,” the KRG premier said in a tweet.
“We are modernising our infrastructure and improving methods of supply to reduce costs — freeing up spending for other projects to the benefit of all Kurdistanis,” Barzani added.
On October 15, the prime minister said the KRG was building hydro-electric and solar-powered energy plants across the Region as it is producing 3,000 megawatts of electricity per day.
“We are investing in the future by moving towards cleaner and cheaper energy for Kurdistan,” Barzani tweeted. “Green energy can be a major sector for the prosperity of our economy.”
Power shortages are frequent in the Kurdistan Region, especially during high-demand periods in summer and winter.
Barzani said on October 14 that the KRG was providing 21 hours of electricity to its citizens, working to invest in improving energy infrastructure to improve electricity generation.
The Region has fourteen power stations, which can produce 6,737 megawatts. The ministry of electricity said last year that the amount of electricity generated in the Kurdistan Region was only 3,155 megawatts due to a lack of fuel.
In July, the KRG premier opened Khabat Steam Power Station in Erbil. The station which produces 300 megawatts of electricity would supply 10 percent of electricity to the Kurdistan Region.
“Demands on electricity have increased due to an increase in numbers of factories and apartments,” he added. “We are trying to use gas in the production of electricity.”
