Sudden Halt of Iran's Electricity Exports to Iraq

One day after Turkey began exporting electricity to Iraq, officials in Iraq's Diyala province reported a sudden halt in electricity deliveries from Iran. The official Iraqi news agency reported on Tuesday, July 23, citing government sources in Diyala, that both transmission lines from Iran to this region have been deactivated for unknown reasons, leading to widespread blackouts for residents. The report adds that the 250 megawatts of electricity supplied by Iran to Diyala has been stopped, while this region requires 900 megawatts of electricity due to rising temperatures. The two transmission lines from Iran to Diyala have a total capacity of 550 megawatts, but Iran had only been supplying 250 megawatts to Diyala until now, and that has now ceased. According to archived statistics from Iran's Ministry of Energy, the country imported about three terawatt-hours of electricity from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan in the year 1401 (2022-2023) and exported four terawatt-hours, most of which was delivered to Iraq. Thus, Iran's net electricity exports in 1401 were about one terawatt-hour, which is eight times less than a decade ago. The Ministry of Energy has stopped providing internet users access to its statistics since Khordad last year, but some Iranian officials say that since last summer, Iran's electricity trade balance has been zero; meaning the Islamic Republic exports as much electricity as it imports. It now seems that Iran's summer electricity deficit has peaked to the extent that it cannot even export electricity equal to its imports. Following the severe heat, Iranian officials have reported an increase in electricity consumption and have resorted to measures such as closing offices in some provinces and cutting electricity in what they describe as 'high-consumption' offices. Additionally, social media users report that unannounced power cuts in homes have also increased in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the Turkish Energy Minister announced yesterday that Turkey has begun exporting 300 megawatts of electricity to Iraq. Last year, Turkey launched 2800 megawatts of solar and wind power plants, and according to the latest statistics from the country's energy market regulatory authority, in the first four months of this year, 3500 megawatts of new electric and solar power plants and 600 megawatts of new hydroelectric plants have been launched. The growth in Turkey's electricity production capacity in the first four months of 2024 is equivalent to more than double the total growth of Iran's electricity production from all types of power plants last solar year. Turkey plans to add 7000 megawatts to its solar, wind, and hydroelectric production capacity this year, which is seven times the output of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. Iran also aimed to launch 2850 megawatts of solar and wind power plants last year, but only two percent of that was realized, while the majority of the newly launched power plants in Iran last year were thermal and gas plants with an efficiency of 29 to 33 percent. Iran is facing a summer electricity deficit of 14,000 to 18,000 megawatts, which is equivalent to 20 to 25 percent of the country's electricity demand.