Heatwave and Plant Fault Trigger Widespread Power Outage in Iraq
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IRAQ, AUG 11 – The outage cut over 6,000 megawatts from the grid amid record temperatures and millions of pilgrims, worsening Iraq's chronic electricity shortages, officials said.
- During Monday, Iraq's national power grid collapsed after a fault in the transmission network caused by extreme heat and demand, sources said, plunging central and southern regions into darkness.
- The outage was triggered when the Mussayib–Babil 400 kV transmission lines tripped under heavy loads driven by record temperatures above 50 °C and a surge of millions of pilgrims in Karbala.
- A loss of more than 6,000 megawatts prompted generating units nationwide to shut down automatically, triggering a chain reaction that halted operations.
- Staged restoration began in the southern provinces, with power being restored in Dhi Qar and Maysan, and Basra expected to have electricity back by dawn on Tuesday.
- The blackout underscores chronic electricity shortages since the US-led invasion in 2003, as summer demand is projected to peak at 55 gigawatts in 2025 against a 27-gigawatt supply.
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Iraq was almost completely deprived of public electricity for several hours on Monday because of a massive breakdown caused, according to the authorities, by record temperatures, reaching 50°C in Baghdad and several provinces, and an increase in consumption. ...
Total power supply in Iraq due to temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius in Baghdad and 11 provinces in the center and south of the country and the growth of consumption. The Blackout article is due to extreme temperatures. Only generators have been working for the first time in Romania TV.
According to the authorities, there has been a nationwide blackout in Iraq.
The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity has reported a "total" failure of the electricity grid, causing a temperature increase of up to 50 degrees.
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