The Ministry of Electricity of the Kurdistan Regional Government recently announced that it can now produce approximately 22 hours of electricity per day, thanks to increased generation capacity in the autonomous Kurdistan Region and increasing water level in its hydroelectric dams. At the same time, Ministry employees have called for an increased risk allowance.
The Ministry of Electricity of the Kurdistan Regional Government recently announced that it can now produce approximately 22 hours of electricity per day, thanks to increased generation capacity in the autonomous Kurdistan Region and increasing water level in its hydroelectric dams.
At the same time, Ministry employees have called for an increased risk allowance.
In the past, a lack of electricity hours was considered one of the major problems facing the Kurdistan Region. However, the KRG has worked hard to resolve the problem, deciding to build two huge power plants, one with a 750 MW capacity in the Chamchamal district, Sulaimani, the other in the province of Erbil.
At a recent press conference, the KRG's Minister for Electricity, Yasin Abu-Bakir, announced that its electricity production will increase to 22 hours per day this summer.
He added that the government is striving still to further increase its electrical capacity.
"Kurdistan?s power generation capacity has jumped to 2, 425 MW," Minister Abu-Bakir said.
As the summer approaches, the demand for electricity rises. The minister revealed that his Ministry is expecting demand to increase to up to 2, 700 or even 2, 750 MW.
Private power generators
Many people believe that private power generators will remain necessary. Even though the Region's production capacity rises year after year, people are still concerned about technical errors, which are still a frequent occurrence.
At the conference, Abu-Bakir said that the ministry is preparing a timetable allowing generator owners to cooperate with the local administration to provide electricity whenever the grid cuts out.
Electricity debts
The Ministry also criticised those people and governmental institutions that do not pay their electricity bills.
Governmental departments are not believed to owe in the region of IQD 109 billion, while the debt owed by private individuals has now reached around IQD 85 billion.
The Minister stressed that the Ministry will never cancel those debts, and that instalment plans are available for debtors.
Demands to increase risk allowance
The Ministry?s employees call upon the KRG to increase their risk allowance, seeing as the Iraqi federal government has increased the allowance given to all Iraqi employees, save those employed in the KRG, by up to 75%.
Abu-Bakir said the ministry has formed a committee to look into the issue with the KRG's Council of Ministers.
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