Residents of Basra’s Shuaiba area march toward a local electricity station Monday night to protest recurring power outages and demand improved electricity supply during the summer season.
Hundreds protest outside Basra electricity station as summer outages bite
BASRA — Hundreds of residents gathered outside an electricity station in the Shuaiba area of Basra’s Zubair district Monday evening, demanding an end to power outages that demonstrators say leave them without electricity for up to eight hours a day as summer temperatures rise.
Protester Mohammed Yassin told 964media that Shuaiba’s proximity to oil facilities and strategic infrastructure makes its poor electricity supply particularly hard to accept. “The Shuaiba area includes large numbers of residents and is located near oil facilities and vital installations, yet it still suffers from weak electricity supply compared with its needs,” he said. Residents are calling for a five-hours-on, one-hour-off supply schedule in line with other areas, saying repeated outages have damaged electrical appliances, caused financial losses and placed particular strain on patients, elderly people and children.
Yassin said the situation is compounded by the absence of private neighborhood generators. “Residents depend almost entirely on national grid electricity, making long outages directly affect their daily lives, especially with the high temperatures during the summer,” he said.
“The suffering of Shuaiba residents is worsening because there are no private generators in the area to compensate for electricity cuts,” he said. “Residents depend almost entirely on national grid electricity, making long outages directly affect their daily lives, especially with the high temperatures during the summer.”
The protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations over electricity and public services in southern Iraq. On Friday, residents of the al-Madina district in northern Basra marched from Martyrs Square to the local transmission substation, demanding an end to recurring power outages and giving authorities one week to respond before launching an open-ended sit-in. Protest organizers called for a dedicated generating station for northern Basra and complained that communities located near oil fields continue to suffer from poor services.
Similar protests were held Saturday in the Manathira district of Najaf governorate, where residents blocked al-Saqi Bridge and demanded action on stalled projects, deteriorating services and infrastructure problems. Protesters there set deadlines for authorities and warned of peaceful escalation after the 10th of Muharram if their demands are not met.
The demonstrations come as Iraq faces a broader electricity crisis linked to reduced Iranian gas imports, lower domestic energy production and regional disruptions. Iraq relies on Iranian gas for more than 30% of its electricity generation, while many households across the country depend on private generators during summer months, when temperatures in Baghdad and southern governorates frequently exceed 50 degrees Celsius. In Shuaiba, residents say they do not have that alternative and remain dependent on the national grid.