Attacks on electricity infrastructure cuts power to parts of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salahuddin

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Attacks by unknown armed groups on the electricity infrastructure in Kirkuk Province cut power supplies to parts of Nineveh, Salahuddin, and Kirkuk.  

In a statement on Friday, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced that power supplies to parts of Nineveh, Salahuddin, and Kirkuk governorates were cut due to separate attacks on power transmission lines in Kirkuk.

“Terrorists sabotaged three power transmission lines between Diyala-Kirkuk, Dur-Hawija, and Mullah Abdullah-Hawija on Friday and early morning Saturday, which cut the power,” the Ministry said.

According to the statement, the attacks, by gunshots, on the transmission lines led to a decrease in power supplies, and in some cases outages, to the three governorates.

The Ministry’s technical staff began maintenance on the sabotaged lines to restore power to the provinces.

The Ministry of Electricity previously announced it had exhausted its capacity and potential and now finds it difficult to restore services as its storages are running out of equipment to renovate the destroyed power stations and transmission lines.

It called on security forces to track criminals who try to hurt the Iraqi people by targeting the electricity infrastructure.

In mid-July, the Ministry revealed that Iran cut power supplies to Iraq due to unpaid bills. The Iranian move has exacerbated the country’s energy crisis creating widespread anger and demonstrations across several provinces in southern Iraq.

Since July 8, people have taken to the streets calling on the government to provide them with better services, one of those demands is better electricity.

According to the former Iraqi Parliament’s Energy Committee, since 2003, the country has spent 40 billion USD on its energy sector, yet the government has not been able to provide 24-hour electricity to its people.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany