Two bills for the citizen and a 55% loss in production… a call to privatize electricity in Iraq
Two bills for the citizen and a 55% loss in production… a call to privatize electricity in Iraq
2026-08-23
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Eco Iraq Observatory announced on Sunday that about 55% of the electricity produced in Iraq is lost as a result of violations on the grid and irregular connections.
In a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, the observatory called for the gradual privatization of the electricity sector to raise the efficiency of production and distribution, reduce waste, and end the burden on citizens of the cost of both government electricity and private generators.
He explained that Iraq’s current production is about 26,000 megawatts, while the country’s needs during the peak of the summer season reach about 60,000 megawatts.
He added that about 55% of the energy produced is lost during transmission and distribution as a result of violations, irregular connections and the absence of metering systems, which exacerbates the actual deficit in energy available to consumers.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Electricity is one of the sectors that drains large financial resources, at a time when the citizen bears the cost of government electricity and the cost of private generators at the same time, explaining that the monthly spending on the electricity sector exceeds 200 billion dinars, which raises questions about the efficiency of spending and the effectiveness of the production, transmission, distribution and collection system.
shafaq.com
