KRG's 'Runaki' Project to Bring 24/7 Power to Soran Independent Administration
The KRG's 'Runaki' project expands to the Soran Independent Administration in October, aiming to provide 24/7 electricity to over 350,000 residents. The initiative will install smart meters and end reliance on private generators, solving chronic power shortages.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s ambitious 'Runaki' project is set to bring 24-hour, uninterrupted national electricity to the entire Soran Independent Administration starting this October, a move officials are hailing as a historic solution to the region's long-standing power shortages. The expansion will cover over 350,000 residents across a vast and strategic border area.
In an interview with Kurdistan24 on Monday, Ardawan Ibrahim, the Director General of Electricity Distribution for the Soran Independent Administration, detailed the timeline for the major infrastructure push.
"At the beginning of October, implementation of the 'Runaki' project will begin in the center of the Soran Independent Administration and all surrounding districts, sub-districts, and villages," Ibrahim told Kurdistan24 correspondent Tayfur Mohammed. "The process will continue until the end of October, meaning it will last for one month."
The 'Runaki' project, a flagship initiative of the KRG's Ninth Cabinet, aims to provide 24/7 electricity by upgrading the grid and installing smart meters, thereby eliminating the need for costly and polluting private neighborhood generators. The rollout in Soran is being closely coordinated with the 'Runaki Team' from the office of the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Ibrahim noted that while the exact starting point has not been finalized, local officials have a clear preference. "We would prefer it to be implemented first in the surrounding villages, as they do not have private generators and rely solely on the national electricity grid," he explained, highlighting the needs of the most underserved rural communities.
A key component of the project is the universal installation of smart meters, which is essential for managing the new grid. Addressing concerns about residents who have not yet installed the devices, especially in rural areas, the director general provided assurances. "The team from the Prime Minister's office, which will visit our area to implement the 'Runaki' project, will install smart electricity meters for all citizens who do not yet have them, whether they reside in the city center or the surrounding villages," he stated.
The Soran Independent Administration, a commercial, tourist, and agricultural hub located in the strategic border triangle of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, consists of six districts, 13 sub-districts, and over a thousand villages.
The arrival of the project has been met with significant optimism. "The arrival of the 'Runaki' project is joyful news for the villagers and all the people of the Soran Independent Administration," Ibrahim reiterated. "It is certainly the most important project of all successive cabinets of the Kurdistan Regional Government in the past 30 years, because it fundamentally solves the problem of electricity shortages."
The expansion into Soran is a major step in a region-wide transformation. According to project statistics, 'Runaki' has already provided 24-hour electricity to more than 2,700,000 citizens, representing approximately 40% of the entire population of the Kurdistan Region. The government plans to extend the project to all citizens across the region by the end of 2026.
Beyond solving power shortages, the project has also had a significant positive environmental impact by enabling the shutdown of neighborhood diesel generators, which reduces both noise pollution and harmful carbon dioxide emissions.
