Explosion injures four Ministry of Electricity workers in Anbar, Iraq

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, a security source reported that four workers affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity sustained injuries in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Al-Anbar Governorate, western Iraq.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that "the workers were injured in the Akashat area while working on extending the power transmission line from Jordan and were promptly transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment."

On March 30, the Iraqi Minister of Electricity Ziad Ali Fadhil inaugurated the first phase of the Iraqi-Jordanian electricity grid interconnection in the Rutba district of Al-Anbar Governorate.

The initial operational capacity of the line is 50 megawatts, with plans to increase it to 500 megawatts in the future as additional connection phases are completed to cover broader areas of Al-Anbar.

Notably, Iraq's current electricity generation capacity ranges from 19,000 to 21,000 megawatts, yet the country's demand exceeds 30,000 megawatts.

In addition to the agreement with Jordan, the country signed in 2022 a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia for electricity interconnection.