Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq is planning to boost its electricity imports from neighboring countries as part of urgent measures intended to enhance energy supply during the summer of 2027.

The Iraqi government is also increasing local production, transmission, and distribution capabilities to significantly reduce the widening supply gap.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office said in a statement on Saturday that next year will see a doubling of power production, transmission, and distribution capacity, as well as an end to delay, waste, and corruption.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi directed the Ministry of Electricity to fully maintain current capabilities and to purchase at least 10,000 megawatts of energy from neighboring countries, as well as to implement new projects within Iraq to improve network stability.

The government in Iraq is planning to generate 37,000 megawatts, including 15,000 megawatts from projects carried out by General Electric (GE), 12,000 megawatts from solar energy, and 10,000 megawatts from thermal power plants, to improve the electrical grid’s reliability and efficiency.

The electricity interconnection between Iraq and its neighboring countries represents a crucial initiative for diversifying energy supply sources. This effort is particularly important given the significant challenges the government faces in meeting the increasing domestic demand for electricity.

Iraq’s electrical interconnection comprises a 150 megawatt project with Jordan, which will shortly be increased to 400 megawatts, a 600 megawatt link with Turkey, and a 120 megawatt project with Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Iraq’s electricity grid is experiencing a daily shortage of over 35,000 megawatts due to restricted fuel availability for power plants and a reduction in some external supply sources. In early August, output was barely 24,600 megawatts.

Demand in the summer fluctuates between 55,000 and 60,000 megawatts, exacerbating the supply imbalance and causing continued operational issues for the system. Production levels rely on gas supplies from Iran, which stand at around 20 million cubic meters per day.

The Iraqi plan demonstrates the seriousness of the grid’s challenges, since the government is counting on both maintaining current capacity and implementing new generating projects to assure a more steady supply during peak summer demand and prevent power outages.