ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq is working with international companies to be able to meet domestic electricity demand, Iraqi Minister of Electricity Ziad Ali Fadhil said on Saturday.

“The Ministry of Electricity is working within the last axis of its procedures with General Electric and Siemens to generate around 35,000 megawatts,” Fadhil told state media, adding that they have launched “the first campaign” in the field of steam stations with a capacity of 15,000 megawatts.

According to a statement from Fadhil last week, Iraq’s power grid after the completion of maintenance and the return of natural gas is currently capable of producing 27,000 megawatts, however the current actual output sits at 17,000 megawatts, and current demand for power is 35,000 megawatts.

The success of the projects could potentially catapult Iraq out of energy shortage issues that have plagued the country’s power grid for decades, and see Iraq meet its power demand without resorting to imports.

The Ministry of Electricity announced plans earlier in January to address chronic bottlenecks in electricity production by expanding transmission lines, commissioning new transformer stations, and pursuing regional energy interconnection projects.

Iraq has long relied on imports of electricity and gas from Iran, which account for between 30 to 40 percent of its energy needs, these imports are especially crucial during the summer months, when temperatures can reach 50 degrees celsius and energy demand peaks. 

However, Iraq has faced difficulties paying for these imports due to US sanctions, which restrict payments to Iran to non-sanctioned goods such as food and medicine.