Iraq to increase electricity imports from Turkey to 2,000 megawatts

A person working on an electricity transmission tower. Photo: Jeff Pachoud/AFP Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity revealed that it imports 600 megawatts of electricity per day from Turkey, with plans to reach 2,000 megawatts during the second phase of the electrical interconnection project. The spokesperson for the Electricity Ministry, Ahmed Turki, said that one of the key principles of the strategy to strengthen the national grid’s supply is electricity interconnections with other countries. He added that the Ministry is actively working on electrical interconnection projects with the Gulf States, Turkey, and Jordan. Iraq’s electricity interconnection project with the Gulf States is currently around 98 percent complete, according to Turki. He added that the project has a capacity of 500 megawatts. The Iraqi official mentioned that during the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, the Iraqi electricity minister requested an increase of 300 megawatts in the electricity supply from the Turkish company. This additional capacity has already been integrated into Iraq’s national grid. Iraq now imports 600 megawatts per day from Turkey, with a deal in place for a second phase that will increase imported capacity through the Turkish line to almost 2,000 megawatts. In terms of the electricity interconnection project with Jordan, Turki said that Iraq was getting between 50 and 100 megawatts from the Jordanian side until the contract expired in mid-September, with expectations that it would be renewed next summer.