Iraq: As temperatures rise, a fire broke out at a power station in southern Iraq, and multiple explosions have further impacted the country’s already struggling national electricity grid.
According to an announcement from Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity, a fire erupted at the Al-Bkir station in the southern city of Basra shortly after noon. Consequently, the incident led to the disconnection of transmission lines that connected the southern and central regions, resulting in a complete shutdown of the electrical system in the affected area, as stated by the Ministry of Electricity.
On 29th July 2023, three electricity towers in the northern region were reportedly targeted in sabotage attacks, as mentioned by a local transmission company. The attackers used improvised explosive devices, causing a temporary disruption of services as the electricity supply was cut off.
Although the local transmission company did not explicitly state the responsible party behind the attack, it is worth noting that ISIL (ISIS) fighters and other armed groups have been known to operate in the area. Additionally, there were online reports and a video circulating, claiming to depict a nighttime fire at the electricity station in the Jamila neighbourhood, situated within Sadr City, eastern Baghdad.
The fire incident in Basra had a cascading effect on other essential services, leading to disruptions in the tap water supply, as reported by the Baghdad municipality. To mitigate the impact on citizens, they are striving to operate water pumps using generators.
As a coping mechanism, numerous households opt to subscribe to neighbourhood generators for emergency power supply, whenever they can afford it, due to the country’s recurring outages during the summer season.
Despite being abundant in oil resources, Iraq’s power grid remains in a deteriorated state and is unable to meet the surging demand during hot summers, leaving a significant portion of the population without electricity as temperatures soar.
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