Fire at Basra substation to blame for massive power outage

BASRA, July 30 — The Ministry of Electricity clarified on Saturday that a fire at the Al-Bakr substation in Basra was the cause of a complete power outage in the southern region.

In a statement received by 964 Network, the ministry explained:

“An accidental incident, a fire at the 132 kV Al-Bakr substation in Basra, led to the disconnection of the power lines in the southern region, resulting in a total power outage.

At a time when the power system is facing challenging conditions, including fuel shortages, increased consumption demand, and unprecedented extreme heat, the ministry and its departments are dealing with all crises, religious and national occasions, and have managed to improve the power generation and supply hours. However, unexpected technical incidents can impact the power system and its equipment.

Today, Saturday, at 12:40 PM, the electricity system experienced a total outage due to a fire accident at the Al-Bakr secondary substation in Basra, which led to the disconnection of transmission lines between the southern and central regions, causing frequency oscillations in the system and the disconnection of power generation units at production stations.

Efforts are currently underway, led by the National Control Center in coordination with regional control centers, to rapidly restore the disconnected power generation units and gradually reconnect the transmission lines. The power system is expected to return to normal operation within the next few hours.”