SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Kurdistan Region supplies 500 megawatts to three Iraqi provinces, a Kurdish official said on Saturday, as the Region’s production of electricity is rising.
Director of Electricity Distribution Omed Ahmed said the Region was receiving money from the federal government in return for the provision of electricity to the Iraqi provinces.
“We are producing more electricity than our portion. Therefore, we are supplying electricity to southern Iraqi provinces, and we receive money in return for the provision,” Ahmed told Esta Media Network.
“It won’t have impact on the hours of electricity to our people, and selling the amount is not on people’s accounts,” he said. “The selling of 500 megawatts is supervised by private sectors.”
The official further said the Region was producing more than 3,000 megawatts of electricity per day.
Decades of sanctions and conflict have left Iraq, a major oil producer, with a power shortage. The country’s domestic production capacity is 19.5 gigawatts while its needs are 26.5 GW, according to Iraqi officials.
In August 2020, Kurdistan Region’s Minister of Electricity Kamal Mohammed said the Region would supply Iraq with 500 megawatts of electricity after the federal government provided fuel and expenditure for both Kar company and Qaiwan group in the Region.
The Region has fourteen power stations, which can produce 6,737 megawatts.
Prime minister Masrour Barzani said in October that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was building hydro-electric and solar-powered energy plants across the Region to meet demands.
“Demands on electricity have increased due to an increase in numbers of factories and apartments,” he said. “We are trying to use gas in the production of electricity.”
