Iraq grapples with power shortages and Iran sanctions as summer looms
The expiration of a U.S. sanctions waiver on Iranian electricity imports is complicating Baghdad's balancing act between Tehran and Washington, while the government scrambles for power supply ahead of peak demand season.
Workers from the Southern Projects Commission of Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects assemble a pipeline designed to carry regassified LNG imported via the Khor al-Zubair port in Basra to power stations in February 2025. (ALI AL-AQILY/Iraq Oil Report)
Iraq's government is scrambling to prepare its electricity sector for peak summer demand season, an annual struggle made more challenging this year by the Trump administration's aggressive posture towards enforcing sanctions on energy imports from Iran.
Summer power needs are acute. According to a former senior Electricity Ministry official, demand outpaced supply by about 20,000 MW in the summer of 2024, and a stoppage of Iranian energy imports would further widen that gap by 5,000 to 8,000 MW this year.
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