Iraq's Struggle: Power Outages Amid Scorching Heat

Amidst sweltering temperatures reaching 47 degrees Celsius, Iraq began gradually restoring power after outages struck central and southern regions, as reported by the state news agency citing the electricity ministry. The disruption traced back to a sudden shutdown at the Hamidiya power plant in Anbar province, impacting the national grid.

Electricity ministry undersecretary Mohammed Nehme revealed that emergency teams are working diligently to rectify the network fault, with full power restoration expected within hours. The outage did not affect the Kurdistan region, according to Iraq's parliament energy committee.

Despite Iraq's status as a leading oil producer and OPEC member, its energy infrastructure has suffered from years of under-investment and mismanagement, a situation aggravated by dependence on Iranian natural gas imports and geopolitical tensions, leaving many citizens reliant on private generators and solar power alternatives.

(With inputs from agencies.)