Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity has announced a state of emergency for ten days from 2 August as temperatures in the south of the country rise to 50°C and beyond. The political crisis is heating up alongside rising temperatures (see p10), as Iraqis blame mismanagement and corruption for poor public services.
Many provinces have announced public holidays, but Iraq’s dilapidated power system is still struggling to cope with the summer demand peak. Government forecasts (MEES, 8 July) point to a 1.4GW year-on-year increase in peak demand to a new record 34.18GW for summer 2022 (see chart). Meanwhile, the Ministry says it has hit a new peak supply record of 22.68GW on 30 July. While this is some 680MW above MEES’ earlier forecast, it still leaves a 12GW supply gap. (CONTINUED - 1052 WORDS)
