KRG to credit around $1m in electricity refunds to Runaki households

ERBIL — The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Electricity said Tuesday it will return 1.4 billion Iraqi dinars — about $995,000 — to more than 60,000 households participating in the Runaki 24-hour electricity project, issuing the refunds as credits on May power bills.

Each household will receive up to 20,000 dinars ($14.20) in credit, with some neighborhoods set to receive as much as 80,000 dinars ($56.73), depending on usage, the ministry said. More than 10,000 households will not owe anything on their May bills due to the reimbursement.

The refunds apply to customers who paid more than intended under the project’s progressive pricing structure or did not benefit from the third-month 15% subsidy approved by the Council of Ministers. It also covers households previously excluded from the subsidy program.

The ministry said the measure aligns with earlier commitments to ease the financial burden of the program rollout. In previous months, the KRG covered 50% of electricity costs in the first month and 25% in the second.

The Runaki project, launched Oct. 17, 2024, aims to deliver 24-hour national grid electricity to the Kurdistan Region by the end of 2026. It currently supplies power to 43 neighborhoods in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok, serving more than 100,000 homes and businesses.

Under Runaki, electricity is billed using a sliding scale that begins at 72 dinars ($0.058) per kilowatt-hour for the first 400 kWh, rising to 350 dinars ($0.282) per kWh for usage above 1,600 kWh.

The Kurdistan Region has long struggled with electricity shortages, particularly during the summer and winter months, when state-supplied power often drops to eight to 10 hours per day. Most neighborhoods rely on privately operated diesel generators, with residents subscribing to fixed amperage levels and paying fluctuating fees — a system many describe as costly and unreliable.