Iraq targets 30,000 MW this summer but warns output will fall short of demand

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Electricity Ministry said Tuesday it aims to produce 30,000 megawatts during the summer but acknowledged the figure will fall far short of expected peak demand of between 55,000 and 60,000 megawatts, meaning outages will continue across the country.

“Our stations cannot produce this number of electricity,” ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mousa told the Iraqi News Agency, adding that the shortfall will lead to variations in supply hours and continued scheduled outages across governorates. Exceptions will be made for critical facilities including water stations, sewage plants and hospitals.

Mousa said infrastructure projects are underway to add generation capacity but have not yet been completed, and that achieving even the 30,000 megawatt target depends on adequate gas supply — whether imported or domestic. Iranian gas imports have recovered to 20 million cubic meters per day following a turbulent period in which Israeli strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field in March knocked 3,100 megawatts offline and supplies to southern governorates were cut entirely for weeks. Iraq normally relies on Iran for between a third and 40 percent of its electricity needs, a dependency the regional conflict exposed as an acute vulnerability heading into what is expected to be a difficult summer.