US gas move: Iraq’s race to avert power crisis
Shafaq News/ Iraq is preparing to compensate for the loss of Iranian gas supplies following US President Donald Trump’s decision to end the country’s exemption for importing gas from Iran, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity revealed on Monday.
On Sunday, the US State Department formally ended Iraq’s special exemptions that had allowed Baghdad to purchase Iranian electricity.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Ahmed Al-Abadi, warned that losing Iranian gas could cut Iraq’s power output by over 8,000 megawatts, posing a serious risk to the country’s electricity grid. However, he assured that the government had developed a comprehensive plan to prevent supply disruptions ahead of the peak summer season.
“The plan involves easing network bottlenecks, establishing new feeders, and installing power stations,” Al-Abadi told Shafaq News Agency, adding that the initiative also includes switching government buildings to solar energy systems, with more than 540 buildings set to be equipped — a third of them before summer.
To mitigate the gas shortfall, Al-Abadi noted that Iraq’s Ministry of Oil will import approximately 600 million standard cubic feet of liquefied gas via floating platforms at Iraqi ports, expected to generate around 4,000 megawatts of power before next summer.
As for the Gulf electrical interconnection project, it is set to deliver an additional 500 megawatts by June, he said, while enhanced connections with Jordan and Turkiye aim to further boost generation capacity.
“The government and the Ministry of Electricity are committed to stabilizing the energy system,” Al-Abadi pointed out, highlighting the Iraqi Central Bank’s initiative to offer loans to citizens for installing solar energy systems to ease demand on the national grid.
Earlier on Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz discussed ways to mitigate the impact of the waiver's termination. Waltz linked the move to Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy aimed at countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions, missile programs, and regional influence.
For years, Iraq has relied on Iranian gas and electricity imports, especially during peak summer demand, benefiting from periodic US waivers issued multiple times a year.
In October 2024, Iraq signed a deal with Turkmenistan to import 20 million cubic meters of gas per day via Iranian pipelines using a swap mechanism. However, implementation has stalled due to technical issues, according to Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity.
