Lawmakers endorse reforms to ease Iraq's power shortages

Shafaq News- Baghdad

The Iraqi parliament voted on Monday to approve a package ofrecommendations to address the country's electricity crisis, including reopeningall corruption cases related to the Electricity Ministry dating back to 2005 andstrengthening oversight.

According to a statement, the measures require the ministryto submit a detailed annual plan before each summer season outlining completionrates, implementation timelines, and performance indicators, with regularreviews by parliament. The suggestionsalso call for reviewing all contracts and projects awarded throughexemptions or found to lack technical or economic viability, while taking legalaction against those responsible for wasting public funds.

They further called for adopting a national renewable energyprogram by expanding the use of solar power systems for households and theagricultural and industrial sectors to ease pressure on the national grid andreduce fuel consumption. The Central Bank of Iraq, in coordination with publicand private banks, was tasked with launching a soft-loan initiative offeringsubsidized or interest-free financing, flexible repayment terms, and simplifiedguarantees for citizens wishing to install solar power systems. In addition,the Electricity Ministry was directed to establish technical and administrativemechanisms to facilitate connecting solar power systems to the national grid.

Read more: Iraq needs ≈25M solar panels to ease power crisis

A joint committee comprising the parliamentary committees onElectricity, Finance, Planning, Investment, Oil, Services, and Integrity willoversee implementation of the measures and submit periodic progress reports toparliament on achievement rates and obstacles.

Earlier today, Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Wahib reportedlytold parliament that Iraq needs 60,000 MW of electricity but is generating only20,000 MW after losing about 7,000 MW of capacity. He pledged to restore 9,000MW within 15 days through increased Iranian gas supplies and discussions withTurkiye on electricity imports. ...