Basra council rejects Baghdad's 1,300 MW power cut order

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Basra Provincial Council has rejected an order from the National Control Center in Baghdad to reduce the province's share of electricity. Council Electricity Committee head Shia'ir al-Salih said the center had begun shutting parts of the grid and intervening to cut Basra's allocation, calling the moves unacceptable and saying the council would oppose any local outage plan. Al-Salih said Basra's current electricity load stands at 4,765 megawatts against national generation of 6,133 megawatts, yet the control center has been demanding additional cuts. He accused relevant institutions of failing to match their public statements with action, describing interference in Basra's share as unacceptable. He said the council would not accept the planned outages and would push back against any disruption to the local power supply. Temperatures in Basra have climbed above 50 degrees Celsius with rising humidity, making continuous energy supply essential, al-Salih added.