The Ministry of Electricity said on Friday that it is moving ahead with wide campaigns to install electricity meters, fix distribution networks, and collect power bills. At the same time, it admitted that losses in transmission and distribution lines have climbed to more than 58%, which is a huge problem.
Ministry spokesman Ahmed Moussa said the Prime Minister is holding regular meetings to closely follow how ready the electricity sector is for peak demand, whether in summer or winter. He explained that these meetings look at how loads are balanced, how power reaches central and remote areas, and how ongoing projects are fixing weak points in the grid. According to Moussa, everything related to electricity is under constant review by the Prime Minister and the ministry team.
Moussa added that the Prime Minister is putting special focus on collecting electricity bills, controlling loads, and dealing with illegal power connections, especially in agricultural areas and informal housing settlements. These meetings also review how many hours electricity is supplied and how much energy is generated, used, and actually paid for.
He pointed out that electricity losses are extremely high and cost the ministry a lot of money in production and transmission. Because of this, the Prime Minister has stressed the need to take real steps to reduce those losses.
Moussa explained that losses fall into two main types: technical and administrative. Technical losses come from transmission lines and distribution networks, and the acceptable limit is no more than 6%. But what’s happening now goes far beyond that.
The current losses, which exceed 58%, are mostly administrative. This means electricity is being delivered to consumers but not paid for, not controlled, or not officially registered. In simple terms, power is being used, but the ministry isn’t collecting the money for it.
He said the Prime Minister has ordered strict action to control loads, deal with major violations, organize illegal connections, install meters for all users, and make sure electricity bills are collected properly.
Moussa added that increasing revenue is essential because that money is used to buy important equipment and materials needed to keep the power grid running. He concluded by saying the Prime Minister reviewed the ministry’s plan, which aims to steadily improve bill collection and sharply reduce the massive losses in Iraq’s electricity system.
