The Electricity Problem in Iraq: From Technical to “Political”

[size=52]The Electricity Problem in Iraq: From Technical to “Political”[/size]

[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The problem of the lack of electricity in Iraq is a chronic problem that emerges and is constantly being talked about, especially in the summer and winter, and specifically during the summer when it is hot and temperatures exceed half the boiling point in most of the Iraqi governorates, especially the southern ones.[/size]
Despite the billions that have been wasted over the past years in the electricity sector, Iraqis are deprived of them and hardly get a few hours, sometimes not exceeding two or three hours out of a total of 24 hours.
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[size=45]What  has [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] since the beginning of the summer this year is the  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which significantly affected the already few hours of processing, and  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] caused it to be removed from service.[/size]
[size=45]An informed security source in Salah al-Din Governorate confirmed that the  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  that took place in the surrounding governorates, with the aim of depriving the governorate of supplying electrical energy.[/size]
[size=45]The source explained that "The Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades militia is responsible for these operations and is carrying out them in conjunction with the anniversary of the Speicher massacre, and it wants to cut off electricity to Salah al-Din Governorate as a kind of revenge and sectarian escalation."[/size]
[size=45]What  has [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] since the beginning of the summer this year is the  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which significantly affected the already few hours of processing, and  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] caused it to be removed from service.[/size]
[size=45]An informed security source in Salah al-Din Governorate confirmed that the  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  that took place in the surrounding governorates, with the aim of depriving the governorate of supplying electrical energy.[/size]
[size=45]The source explained that "The Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades militia is responsible for these operations and is carrying out them in conjunction with the anniversary of the Speicher massacre, and it wants to cut off electricity to Salah al-Din Governorate as a kind of revenge and sectarian escalation."[/size]
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[size=45]Noting that "the militias also aim to cut off the water and target the water supply pipes, and they deliberately carry out these operations with the high temperatures, which threatens to cause a major humanitarian crisis."[/size]
[size=45]However, security sources and parliamentarians recently talked about that some of the operations targeting energy towers are not “terrorist” but rather “sabotage” and pointed to the presence of influential parties and personalities, standing behind these incidents, to achieve financial gains, specifically from the issues of replacing the damaged towers. And protection contracts, as well as fuel for private generators, which at times represent a substitute for the national energy supply, in all governorates of the country.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq relies on private generators, owned by traders or ordinary citizens, to cover part of the daily operation, as the national network does not provide full processing hours, as an alternative plan, while political networks and influential parties own some of those generators, which generate huge profits, with the high amounts collected Due to monthly subscriptions.[/size]
 
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[size=45]In the event that national energy is available, those owners of these generators will suffer significant losses due to the lack of operation for a longer time, which means a decline in revenues, or the dispensation of those alternatives permanently.[/size]
[size=45]Although there is a movement to connect Iraq with the Gulf electrical system, this matter is being obstructed by political parties, while some assert that the problem of electricity has become “political” in addition to being a technical problem.[/size]
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[size=45]The journalist specializing in economic and energy affairs, Ayser Jaber, says that "the energy file in Iraq is political, as the file is used to fuel popular protests every summer."[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi electricity protests are not simple or fleeting, but they usually end in bloodshed by the demonstrators, as happened in the Basra demonstrations in 2018.[/size]
[size=45]According to Jaber, electricity is a very important factor in fueling street anger, due to the “terrible” high temperatures in Iraq, which prompted the Iraqi protesters in October of 2019 to time their demonstrations so that they did not coincide with this high temperature.[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] already begun  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , which started on Tuesday evening from Kut Governorate to protest against the continuous power cuts.[/size]
[size=45]On Tuesday, the Iraqi province of Nasiriyah witnessed protest demonstrations to demand an improvement in the electrical power situation.[/size]
[size=45]Dozens of citizens went out in front of the thermal electric power station in Nasiriyah to protest against the deterioration of the electricity reality, and demanded the isolation of the station's production from the national system.[/size]
[size=45]And granted the southern province of Basra, on Tuesday, a holiday for its employees.[/size]
[size=45]The governorate has better processing hours due to its very high temperatures, but this is not always stable.[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi meteorologist expects temperatures to rise more in the coming weeks, while it does not seem that the $80 billion that has been spent on the electricity sector since 2003 is enough for Iraqis to enjoy a cool summer, or at least likely.[/size]
[size=45]An Iraqi deputy confirmed the country's possession of stations capable of providing electricity 20 hours a day in the event of fuel availability, while talking about the importance of searching for other sources to obtain gas.[/size]
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[size=45]Representative Khaled al-Jashami said, "Iraq has stations that are supposed to generate about 31,000 megawatts, but what is being generated at the moment is only 16 megawatts."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "If these stations reach a production capacity of 21,000 megawatts, electricity will be available 20 hours a day, but the lack of fuel prevented this from being achieved."[/size]
[size=45]The parliamentarian criticized “not investing in Iraq’s gas fields, which Baghdad is forced to import from Iran,” noting that “Washington, because of the sanctions, refuses to transfer Iraq’s money to Iran, and the latter refuses to provide the country with gas for free, and the people have become victims of political disputes.”[/size]
[size=45]Iraq needs more than 23 thousand megawatts / hour of electric energy, to meet the needs of the population and institutions without interruption, while the current production is at the limits of 18 thousand.[/size]
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