Massive Fire Incident Causes Nationwide Power Outage in Iraq

The Saturday fire incident at a power station caused a complete power outage across Iraq, as the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity reported. 

The ministry stated that efforts are underway to restore electricity within the coming hours amid a significant temperature rise.

The electricity issue is a sensitive matter in Iraq, where the population of 43 million people experiences daily and recurrent power outages that can last up to ten hours. 

The situation worsens during summer, with temperatures soaring up to fifty degrees Celsius.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, the electrical system experienced a complete shutdown today, Saturday, due to a fire accident at the Al-Bakr substation in Basra Governorate.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Moussa, confirmed to AFP that the outage affected the entire country.

The statement further explained that the fire led to the disruption of power transmission lines between the central and southern regions of the country, as well as the disconnection of generating units at production stations.