Fire at Rumaila gas station causes power outage in Basrah

Shafaq News/ A fire broke out at the Rumaila North Gas Station in Basrah, southern Iraq, on Sunday, causing a power outage in the area.

According to a local source, the fire was caused by high weather temperature, which led to a malfunction in a transformer. The outage affected the Ds2 station, which is currently being powered by a backup generator.

The source said that technicians are working to repair the damaged transformer and restore power to the station as soon as possible.

Iraq is an oil-rich country, but its dilapidated power grid remains incapable of meeting peak demand during hot summers, leaving many without electricity as temperatures rise.

Many households subscribe to neighbourhood generators for emergency supplies, if they can afford it, as the country suffers regular outages during the summer.

Protests over unreliable power supplies have been common in Iraq, with the most recent taking place earlier this month.

In addition to importing electricity from neighbouring countries like Iran, the government has been expanding its electricity generation capacity. But ministry figures say it still lacks the capacity to meet an estimated demand of 32,000 megawatts a day in the country.

Last year, Iraq signed a $27 billion agreement with France's TotalEnergies, the largest foreign investment in Iraq’s history, to generate power using natural gas.

Many hope the deal will help resolve the country’s longstanding energy woes, attract international investors and reduce its reliance on imports.