Former Minister of Electricity: Privatization is the only solution to face the energy crisis

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[size=52]Former Minister of Electricity: Privatization is the only solution to face the energy crisis[/size]

[size=45]The former Minister of Electricity, Louay Al-Khatib, said that the solution to the electricity crisis is to resort to privatization, indicating that the continuation of government support in the current form will lead to the collapse of the economy and the national network, noting that Iraq spends annually up to 14 billion dollars on the file with revenues of two billion dollars from collection only.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib said in a television interview, which was followed by (Al-Mada), that "the main reason for the deterioration of energy in Iraq is the intervention of politicians who are not specialists in it and assigning it to leaders who are not politically supported and for temporary periods."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "Among the problems is the division of the file into three ministries (oil, electricity and industry), conflict of interests between ministries and public companies, and government control over the entire operational aspect of the energy sector."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib criticized, “the absence of an economic vision in reforming the energy file and developing it locally, and the downgrading of its competencies by media and politicians who do not understand anything about the ABCs of energy and the economy.” He considered, "Reforming the energy sector is a joint responsibility, involving all governmental and non-governmental sectors, with a stable policy, plan and leadership for no less than 8 years without confusion and interference."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib explained, "The House of Representatives is not within its jurisdiction to interfere in the terms of contracts and assess technical and commercial affairs, because they are subject to other oversight bodies and mechanisms."[/size]
[size=45]He stated, "The history of the electricity crisis dates back to the end of the Iran-Iraq war, and then the crisis worsened in the nineties of the last century after the Gulf War."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib spoke about “major expansions that took place in the national network after 2003 to exceed the design capacity of 30 thousand megawatts,” adding that “terrorism drained capabilities and destroyed up to 5,000 megawatts, in addition to the extinction and deterioration that affected the network,” noting that “the peak production of the network reached 20 thousand megawatts in the summer of 2021.”[/size]
[size=45]He stated, "One of the narratives circulating in the media is Iran's imposition on Iraq to sell gas and electricity," adding that "the levels of domestic demand in Iran for electricity and gas are constantly increasing, but they are obligated to contractually equip us with what is available to them, in addition to the difficulty of paying their bills due to US sanctions. imposed on them.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib added, "The associated gas in Iraq constitutes about 80% of the currently proven reserves, and in the event that all Iraqi gas, free and associated, are invested, and the level of oil production reaches 8 million barrels per day."[/size]
[size=45]He continues, "This production is not sufficient to supply more than 75% of the stations' demand in 2030, calling for" diversifying sources of gas import from several sources, and adding at least 20% to the network by adopting renewable energy projects and projects that depend on multiple types of fuels.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib stated, “There are at least four and a half million consumer units, of all kinds, residential, industrial, agricultural, commercial and governmental, in addition to one million slums, with an annual increase of nearly 10%.”[/size]
[size=45]He went on to say that "government subsidies for electricity range between 12-14 billion dollars annually at current rates, and this number is subject to increase with the increase in the population, while collection does not reach two billion dollars at its best."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khatib estimated that the electricity subsidy “constitutes 50% of the annual budget deficit, and this situation cannot be continued, otherwise the economic collapse or the collapse of the national grid is an inevitable issue.” He stressed the need to "go to privatize the production and distribution sectors in the field of electricity and to keep the transport sector in the hands of the government, but according to international standards, on its terms and conditions." Al-Khatib added that this “must happen after restructuring public companies and listing them in the stock market to attract local and international investments without relying on financing them from the state treasury, and after canceling government support on tariffs, and adopting a market economy and competition.”[/size]
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