Will Iran's electricity cut turn Iraq toward Gulf?
Iraq is facing reduced electricity and gas supplies from Iran, which might lead Iraq toward an electricity connection with the Gulf.
Iraqi government officials signed a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 25 with Saudi Arabia to connect the two countries' power grids, ending the monopoly of energy supply from Iran.
Iraq is currently heavily dependent on Iran for electricity and fuel for its power plants, but Iran has recently been unable to supply the agreed-upon amounts. Iran was supposed to export 35 million to 50 million cubic meters of gas based on the season, but it is only providing 8 cubic meters at the moment. Also, the agreed-upon export of 1,500 megawatts of electricity has reduced to 200 recently.
This has cut the power supply to Iraqi consumers significantly. Most of Iraq’s power plants use gas generators, so the gas cutbacks affect electricity as well.
Iraq has been trying to find alternatives through the Gulf or Jordan and Egypt but nothing has been finalized yet.
