Ministry to cut power to institutions over unpaid bills as criticism of outages mounts

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Electricity Ministry said Sunday it will disconnect institutions that have not paid accumulated electricity bills, and has cancelled exemptions that let some bodies keep receiving power during scheduled outages. It did not name a single institution in either category, disclose what is owed, or say how many are affected.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Turki Jiyad told the Iraqi News Agency that Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Waheeb has issued a series of decisions since taking office, among them scrapping what the ministry called unjustified exemptions on emergency power lines. Some private institutions had run up unpaid charges over several years, Jiyad said, and their supply will stay cut until the bills are settled. He said the measures are meant to improve fairness in distribution, protect public funds and enforce billing rules.

The announcement does not address the demand that prompted it. Noura al-Juhaishi, a member of parliament’s Electricity and Energy Committee, called Wednesday for exemptions granted to government ministries to be scrapped as well. “I call on the prime minister, on behalf of the Iraqi people, to cancel all electricity supply exemptions granted to ministries, starting with the Ministry of Electricity, so they can experience the same hours of electricity supply as citizens,” she said in a television interview. “This would allow that large amount of electricity to be redirected to Iraqi citizens.” The ministry’s statement covers emergency lines and unpaid private accounts, and says nothing about ministries.

The measures follow weeks of criticism over falling supply that has triggered demonstrations in several governorates and prompted lawmakers to call for an end to preferential treatment. Residents of Basra, Najaf and Wasit have demonstrated for longer supply hours, blocking roads and clashing with security forces in some areas.

Waheeb told parliament’s Electricity and Energy Committee on Saturday that regional crises had delayed cross-border interconnection projects with Turkey, Jordan and Gulf countries expected to add 1,250 MW before summer. None has entered service. He said the ministry still faces fuel shortages and outstanding obligations on gas purchases.

Iraq’s plants depend on imported Iranian gas for 33% to 40% of generation. Deliveries fell sharply this year after attacks on Iran’s South Pars field, and lower Iraqi oil output cut the associated gas available domestically. The ministry aimed in April to generate 30,000 MW at peak against projected demand of 55,000 to 60,000 MW; generation has since fallen to about 21,000 MW. Former ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mousa al-Abadi has separately said more than half of generated power is lost in transmission and distribution.

The ministry has run a central emergency operations room since May coordinating generation, transmission and distribution through the summer and ahead of Arbaeen, when millions travel to Karbala and demand rises.