Iraq loses about 55% of its electricity generation, ecology monitor says

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraq Ecology Observatory said about 55% of the country's electricity generation is lost during transmission and distribution due to unauthorized connections to the grid and theft. In a written statement, the observatory called for the gradual privatization of the electricity sector, higher efficiency in generation and distribution, reduced losses, and an end to the practice of citizens paying for both state-supplied power and private generators. The observatory said current generation stands at about 26,000 megawatts, while peak summer demand reaches roughly 60,000 megawatts. It said the 55% loss is driven by illegal hookups, ad-hoc additions and a lack of metering systems, further reducing the capacity that actually reaches consumers. The statement noted that the Ministry of Electricity consumes large financial resources while citizens continue to bear the cost of both public electricity and private generators. It said the sector's monthly spending exceeds 200 billion Iraqi dinars and questioned the effectiveness of generation, transmission, distribution and collection systems. No further details were immediately available.