Iraq’s Minister of Electricity Ziyad Ali Fadel said Baghdad will complete the connection with the Kuwaiti electricity grid by the end of 2024 and will begin receiving 500 megawatts of electricity as the country seeks to diversify its energy sources, heavily reliant on Iran.
Fadel stated that the connection with Kuwait is currently 45% complete.
He added that Iraq has completed the connection between its electricity grid and Jordan, and Baghdad only needs approval for funding to start transferring 50 megawatts of energy initially.
Iraq currently imports between one-third and 40% of its electricity and gas needs from Iran.
However, it still suffers from widespread power outages, especially during the summer months when temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius and energy consumption peaks.
Iran often cuts off its supplies when it needs more electricity domestically, and Iraq struggles to pay for imports due to US sanctions imposed on Iran.
The United States is pressuring Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to reduce its reliance on Iranian gas.
Amid these pressures, Iraq reached an agreement last year with the French energy giant Total Energies for a long-awaited $27 billion deal to obtain and produce energy using gas, a byproduct accompanying oil production, among other things.
