Iraq will soon purchase 500 megawatts of electricity from Turkey to solve the problem of power cuts in the country.
Iraq's Electricity Minister Adil Karim made the related statements in a program on the state broadcaster.
Expressing that the negotiations for gas purchases from Qatar are continuing as well, in order to provide adequate electricity service in Iraq, Karim said: “The issue of gas purchase from Qatar will be completed within 1 year to 15 months, if the possibilities allow.”
Reiterating that they also signed an energy (electricity) agreement with Saudi Arabia, Karim said the amount of electricity they will receive from Saudi Arabia in the first place is 500 megawatts, and then this will be increased to 1000 megawatts.
Karim noted that the electricity flow line with Jordan will be completed within a year, explaining that the electricity to be taken from this country will be transferred to the regions in the west of Iraq.
The Iraqi minister said that 8 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas is currently coming from Iran and this is insufficient for electricity generation.
“A delegation from the ministry will go to Tehran soon to solve the gas problem from Iran. The annual cost of Iranian gas to Iraq is less than $4 billion. We didn't even get 1 megawatt from Iran last summer,” he said.
Iraq has been grappling with a lack of electricity service for many years. In many parts of the country, only three to five hours of national electricity can be provided on average per day.
For years, Iraqis have been getting their electricity supply from neighborhood generators for a fee and in limited quantities. It is known that these generators increase environmental pollution and disease in the country.
