Iraq's Kurdistan enjoys all-day state electricity
Despite Iraq's vast oil wealth, the national grid struggles to meet demand, leaving most areas reliant on imported energy and subject to frequent power cuts.
"Today, two million people across the Kurdistan region enjoy 24-hour electricity... that's 30 percent of the population," including the cities of Arbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniyah, said regional prime minister Masrour Barzani.
In 2024, the Kurdistan Regional Government launched "Project Runaki" to deliver round-the-clock power in a region where, like much of Iraq, residents often turn to costly and polluting private generators.
The region's electricity minister, Kamal Mohammed, said residents were now enjoying "uninterrupted, cleaner, and more affordable electricity".
"Rollout to other areas is expected to be completed by the end of 2026," he told AFP.
As part of the transition, roughly 30 percent of the 7,000 private generators operating across Kurdistan have already been decommissioned, he said, a move that has contributed to an estimated annual reduction of nearly 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The project also aims to lower household electricity bills, offering a cheaper alternative to the combined cost of grid power and private generator fees.
However, bills will still depend on consumption and are likely to increase during peak summer and winter months.
Mohammed said the project's success hinges on the introduction of "smart" meters to curb electricity theft, as well as a new tariff system to promote responsible usage.
"More power has been added to the grid to support 24/7 access," he said.
Kurdistan has doubled its gas production in the past five years, and most of the power supply comes from local gas production, Mohammed said.
Despite Iraq's abundant oil and gas reserves, years of conflict have devastated its infrastructure.
The country remains heavily reliant on imports, particularly from neighbouring Iran, which frequently interrupts supply. It also imports electricity from Jordan and Turkey, while seeking to boost its own gas output.
"We stand ready to offer our technical support and assistance" to the federal government, Mohammed said.
In Arbil, resident Bishdar Attar, 38, said the biggest change was the absence of noisy and polluting generators.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
03-08-2025
- France 24
Eight OPEC+ countries raise production by 547,000 bpd
Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, along with the Saudis and Russians -- together nicknamed the Voluntary Eight (V8) -- currently produce about 41-42 million barrels a day, so the increase is about 1.5 percent. Analysts said there was unlikely to be a major impact on prices, with the Brent reference oil currently selling at about $70 a barrel. "The eight participating countries will implement a production adjustment of 547,000 barrels per day in September 2025 from August 2025 required production level," said a statement released after a meeting where the hike was agreed. The eight key producers, who started increasing production in April, affirmed their commitment to market stability on "current healthy oil market fundamentals," an OPEC statement read. Oil prices have held up better than observers anticipated amid strong summer demand and a high geopolitical risk premium, notably owing to conflict between Iran and Israel. "OPEC+ has passed the first test -- unwinding 2.2 million barrels per day (since April) without crashing prices or compromising unity," said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy. "But the next task will be even harder: deciding if and when to unwind the remaining 1.66 million barrels, all while navigating geopolitical tension and preserving cohesion," said Leon. 'Low oil inventories' The post-meeting statement said the decision came "in view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories." The OPEC+ countries agreed in December to start a gradual return from last April of the 2.2 million barrels per day of previous production cuts. The latest move, a year ahead of an initial 18-month schedule, completes the unwinding and also provides for a 300,000 barrels per day tranche granted specifically to the United Arab Emirates. The statement said that "the phase-out of the additional voluntary production adjustments may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions". The eight added that they will hold monthly meetings for a regular review of market conditions. For now, the return of other production cuts is to be discussed at the next OPEC+ ministerial meeting at the end of November, with all 22 members. But OPEC said the V8 will first meet on September 7. In a bid to boost prices, the wider OPEC+ group -- comprising the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies -- in recent years had agreed to three different tranches of output cuts, amounting to almost six million bpd in total. 'Avoid sharp drop' After a long period of producers seeking to combat price erosion by implementing production cuts to make oil scarcer, recent months have seen a shift in strategy. Prior to the announcement, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo had suggested the quota increase was "largely priced in" on energy markets. What happens over the next few months is less certain but ING's Warren Patterson said that the "base scenario" will see the V8 pause output hikes for the time being. For Patterson, a significant surplus may well emerge from the fourth quarter of this year, which OPEC+ would have to manage carefully. "The alliance is striving to find a balance between regaining market share and avoiding a sharp drop in oil prices," so as not to wipe out its profits, said Tamas Varga of PVM Oil Associates. Market experts warn that forecasting is particularly challenging given the uncertainty emanating from US President Donald Trump's tariffs policy and its effects on global trade, as well as his 10-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
France 24
02-08-2025
- France 24
Turkey starts supplying Azerbaijani gas to boost Syria's power output
Syria's Islamist authorities, who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, are seeking to rebuild the battered country where power cuts can last for more than 20 hours a day. Speaking at a ceremony attended by Syria's energy minister and Azerbaijan's economy minister as well as the head of Qatar's development fund, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the initiative would help Syria get back to normal. "In the initial phase, up to two billion cubic metres of natural gas per year could be exported to Syria," Bayraktar said in the southern province of Kilis near the Syrian border. Damascus has said the gas would be used to generate electricity. "The gas will help activate a power plant with a capacity of around 1,200 megawatts, meeting the electricity needs of approximately five million households, and making a significant contribution to the normalisation of daily life in Syria," Bayraktar said. "We will transport natural gas to Aleppo and from Aleppo to Homs. This will enable the power plants there to be put into operation in the near future," he added. A first phase of the Qatari scheme to fund gas supplies for power generation in Syria rolled out in March via Jordan and provided 400 megawatts of electricity per day.
France 24
22-07-2025
- France 24
Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm
"We've been coming here for a long time. Thirty years ago we used to come and go, but then we couldn't come. Now we just started to come again and to bring our animals as we want," said 57-year-old Selahattin Irinc, speaking Kurdish, while gently pressing his hand on a sheep's neck to keep it from moving during shearing. On July 11 a symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics -- part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and much of the international community, was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation. It took up arms in 1984. The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Alongside with several other men and women, Irinc practices animal husbandry in the grassy highlands at the foot of the Cilo Mountains and its Resko peak, which stands as the second-highest in the country with an altitude of 4,137 meters (13,572 feet). A place of scenic beauty, with waterfalls, glacial lakes and trekking routes, Cilo has gradually opened its roads over the past few years to shepherds and tourists alike as the armed conflict with PKK died down on the backdrop of peace negotiations. But the picturesque mountains had long been the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters who took advantage of the rough terrain to hide and strike. It left the Kurdish farmers often at odds with the army. "In the past we always had problems with the Turkish soldiers. They accused us of helping PKK fighters by feeding them things like milk and meat from our herd," another Kurdish livestock owner, who asked not to be named, told AFP, rejecting such claims. "Now it's calmer," he added. 'Last generation' Although the peace process brought more openness and ease to the region, tensions did not vanish overnight. Checkpoints remain present around the city of Hakkari, and also to the main access point to the trekking path leading to Cilo glacier, a major tourist attraction. "Life is quite good and it's very beautiful here. Tourists come and stay in the mountains for one or two days with their tents, food, water and so on," said farmer Mahir Irinc. But the mountains are a hard, demanding environment for those making a living in their imposing shadow, and the 37-year-old thinks his generation might be the last to do animal husbandry far away from the city. "I don't think a new generation will come after us. We will be happy if it does, but the young people nowadays don't want to raise animals, they just do whatever job is easier," he lamented. An open truck carrying more than a dozen Kurdish women made its way to another farm in the heart of the mountains, where sheep waited to be fed and milked. The livestock graze at the foot of the mountains for three to four months, while the weather is warm, before being brought back to the village. "We all work here. Mothers, sisters, our whole family. Normally I'm preparing for university, but today I was forced to come because my mother is sick," explained 22-year-old Hicran Denis. "I told my mother: don't do this anymore, because it's so tiring. But when you live in a village, livestock is the only work. There's nothing else," she said. © 2025 AFP
