How to end the electricity crisis in Iraq? .. Louay Al-Khatib offers solutions, most notably privatization
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Economy News - Baghdad
The former Minister of Electricity, Louay Al-Khatib, said that his tenure in charge of the ministry witnessed the addition of more than 3,500 megawatts to the system in Iraq, although this period did not exceed 12 months, which is the age of the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
He added, in a television interview on the "After the Middle" program, on the Iraqi Al-Rasheed channel, that the performance of the previous government of Abdul-Mahdi was good, even according to the testimony of international institutions, as for the first time in 2019 there were no demonstrations against electricity services.
Al-Khatib continued, "The government had other achievements as well, in the agricultural and planning sectors, in addition to making agreements with other countries such as Germany, China and others." The minister also proposed several solutions through which the electricity crisis in Iraq could be overcome.
Proposals
Louay Al-Khatib proposed urgent solutions to the electricity crisis in Iraq, which was exacerbated by the weak pumping of Iranian gas, and the sabotage of towers and networks.
He said that "technically solving the Iraqi national electricity grid crisis requires solving it economically first, and the solutions also included canceling subsidies, and adjusting the tariff at the international price for the cost of fuel and equipment."
The former minister pointed out that "there is also a need to privatize the production and distribution sectors, and the last solution was to lift the abuses by force of law."
He explained that "the problem in Iraq currently is the subsidy, which exceeds 90%, and therefore the electricity bill falls on the shoulders of the government, which pays it on behalf of the citizen, and it ultimately costs 12 billion dollars annually, while what it collects from the citizens does not exceed one billion or one and a half billion dollars." dollar".
The former Iraqi Minister of Electricity said, "The difference here may reach 11 billion dollars, which constitutes half of the federal budget deficit."
He stressed that calculating the cost here - for fuel, for example - must be calculated at international prices and will not be calculated for free as it is coming from the oil fields in Iraq, as it is in the end from the value of the total production.
electricity production
Louay Al-Khatib said that the peak of electricity production during the period of the previous Abadi government was 15,900 megawatts, and it reached 19,350 megawatts during the era of Abdul-Mahdi's government.
He added, "Before we left the government, we brought into service important stations, such as GE in Al-Sama and Nasiriyah, which is an additional 1,000 megawatts... Each government builds on what the previous governments established, but in the end this effort is accounted for by the Ministry of Electricity."
Regarding the amounts spent on the electricity sector in Iraq, during the period from 2003 to 2020, Al-Khatib said that some say we spent 60 billion dollars, and some say 70 billion or 80 billion dollars, but the reality is that these funds are difficult to count.
He continued, "There is a so-called investment category and there is the operational cost. When you buy a car - for example - at a price of $20,000, and operate it for 20 years, during this period you will need fuel, maintenance and other expenses, you can spend on operating it $60,000, that is, more The same applies to stations and projects.
He explained that this operational cost must be fully recovered, as the kilowatt that reaches the citizen is a production cost that is production, distribution, transportation, fuel, management and maintenance, and all these funds must be fully recovered.
Who is Louay Khatib?
Louay Al-Khatib assumed responsibility for the Ministry of Electricity on October 24, within the consensual ministry formed by former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
Prior to assuming the ministry, Al-Khatib worked in several positions related to the oil and electricity sectors, as he worked as an engineer in international companies, such as the British Gas Company, Shell and the Indonesian company Petronas, in addition to holding the position of honorary advisor to the Iraqi parliament for energy and economic affairs in 2007.
Al-Khatib is also the founder of the International Energy Forum in Baghdad, and founder and executive director of the Iraq Energy Institute.
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