The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, which was formed more than a year ago, is racing against time to find solutions to the country's worsening electricity crisis for 18 years.
The government - whose life ends with the start of the parliamentary elections on the tenth of next month - has concluded important contracts to produce more than 7,000 megawatts of renewable energy, and complete the Gulf interconnection to deliver 500 megawatts to the country via Kuwait to Basra.
A shop owner complains about the frequent power cuts, which has become a concern for him in work and life (Al-Jazeera Net)
Is the electricity crisis still present?
Nothing has changed in suffering from the loss of electricity for long hours, thus Naseer - the owner of a car repair shop in the capital, Baghdad - responds to the reality of the electricity crisis and its continuation, as is the case with many Iraqis.
This prompts them to rely on private generators to complete their business.
Naseer complains about noise, costs and frequent power cuts, which have become a source of concern for him in work and life.
Despite all the government promises made to improve the reality of the electric power system and provide citizens with it, Naseer does not reflect on many of those promises because he is close to his suffering in work and life due to the absence of electricity. Most of the income he gets from his work is spent on repairing the generator and paying for the fuel used.
Moussa: The Ministry of Electricity has raised its production to 20 thousand megawatts, and the need for another 10 thousand is still needed (Al-Jazeera Net)
What is the volume of production and current consumption of electricity?
According to the Ministry of Electricity, Iraq increased its production in the last period to more than 20 thousand megawatts, after it was less than 19 thousand megawatts.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Moussa, explains that his ministry has sought to raise production to its highest levels, to meet the country's need of electric power, which amounts to more than 30,000 megawatts.
What are the causes of crises in the supply of electricity?
The size of the shortage in the supply of electric power in Iraq exceeds 10,000 megawatts, while Moussa attributes the causes of the crises to several points, most notably:
The increasing sabotage targeting of electric power systems and towers.
The decline in gas emissions supplied from Iran to operate the stations.
Non-compliance by the governorates with the approved quotas in terms of the amount of energy supplied.
The continuation of the emergence of irregular agricultural and squatter areas that add new burdens to the system.
The rise in temperature and the technical symptoms that accompany it.
What are the solutions offered by the government?
In its quest to solve the electricity crisis, the government has diversified the sources of energy supply from neighboring countries.
It also aspires to generate additional quantities of electricity estimated at 7,500 megawatts of clean energy, especially by relying on solar energy.
In this context, Baghdad has concluded understandings with major companies from France, China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The government signed two contracts, one with Power China, and the other with France's Total to produce 3,000 megawatts.
What are the stages of completion of the Gulf link?
On the other hand, a spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity spoke about the completion of all procedures related to the electrical interconnection project with the Gulf countries, pointing to the completion of 87% of the understandings that were put forward between Iraq and the Gulf countries on the electrical connection.
Moussa pointed out that there was nothing left of the Gulf linkage project with Iraq but the signing of a memorandum of implementation of the carrier line linking the Iraqi Al-Faw station with the Kuwaiti Al-Zour station.
He added that "the capacity of the electrical connection in its first phase will be 500 megawatts, which will be transferred to Basra Governorate in the summer of 2022."
What is the future of Iranian gas?
Iraq suffers from fluctuations in the quantities of gas imported from Iran to produce electric power, which causes frequent crises in the supply of electric power.
In September, the Ministry of Electricity announced the loss of 5.5 thousand megawatts of electric power;
Due to the reduction in the quantities of Iranian gas that reach some production stations, by 41 million cubic meters per day.
The Ministry of Electricity said - in a statement - that the national electricity system was exposed to an old and renewed challenge, represented by the decline in Iranian gas emissions supplied to production plants in the central and southern regions, from 49 million cubic meters per day to 12 million cubic meters.
And announced that the impact of this decline was focused on the governorates of the center and the south.
According to officials in the Ministry of Electricity, importing Iranian gas will extend for at least the next 10 years, amid the lack of immediate alternatives to compensate for it and Iraq's increasing need for electricity.
Power plant in Iraq (Iraqi Ministry of Electricity)
Do the government's steps gain the approval of observers?
Economists, including economic analyst Salah Al-Ashmawy, believe that the government's endeavor to exploit solar energy and diversify the sources of natural gas that power electric generators is an appropriate solution.
Al-Ashmawi added that renewable energy (sun, wind and water energy) depends on sources that are already available in Iraq.
While the economic analyst Muhannad Jawad believes that the solutions presented are nothing but a flaw in the government's performance, explaining that the Gulf connection will provide Iraq with 500 megawatts, a shy number that represents little of the country's actual need for electricity, and besides that, the talk about the trend for renewable energy was considered metaphorical. It does not fit with the difficult reality that Iraq is going through.
He considered that the government, by proposing such "unrealistic" projects, wants to present a theoretical achievement that is difficult to achieve on the ground, which is full of problems and suffering.
The central gas processing plant in the Rumaila oil field in Basra (Reuters)
What is the future of burning gas in Iraq?
Iraq burns a waste of $6.9 million worth of natural gas per day, or about $7.5 billion a year.
Its production of gas is currently 2.7 billion cubic feet, according to the Ministry of Oil, while Iraq's natural gas reserves are estimated at 132 trillion cubic feet, 700 billion of which were burned due to the poor ability to exploit the burning gas, and the country is still importing gas from Iran.
To reduce gas wastage, the Iraqi Oil Ministry concluded a cooperation agreement with the American Baker Hughes Company to invest 200 million cubic feet of gas per day from two fields in Dhi Qar Governorate (south of the country).
On the other hand, the government contract with the French company Total, signed this month, with a total value of 27 billion dollars, includes investing in the construction of a solar power plant with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts.