Large-scale blackout occurs in Iraq due to heat wave and influx of pilgrims
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On Monday, August 11, Iraq's national power grid failed after two high-voltage power lines failed due to extreme heat, leaving the central and southern regions of the country without electricity. About writes Reuters.

According to the agency's sources, the cause was a sudden failure at the Hamidiyah power plant in Anbar province, which led to a malfunction in the power transmission network.

Pros data Shafaq News, 400kV power lines have failed under heavy load caused by record temperatures of over 50°C and the influx of millions of pilgrims to Karbala.

Every year in Iraq, there is a mass pilgrimage to the tomb of Imam Hussein on the fortieth day of mourning for him – Arbaeen. In 2025, this day fell on August 14.

Power plants in Basra, Maysan, Dhi Qar, Baghdad, Diyala and Al Anbar were shut down. The southern and central provinces, including Basra and the middle Euphrates region, were the hardest hit.

"This afternoon, a power line failure occurred, causing widespread outages across the national grid. Our technical teams are already working to fix the fault and are gradually restoring supply. Within the next few hours, electricity will be fully restored," said Mohammed Nehme, Deputy Minister of Energy of Iraq.

Many Iraqis have been using private generators for years because the electricity provided by the government was intermittent.

Some others have turned to solar energy to meet their electricity needs.

Iraq, one of the world's largest oil producers and a member of OPEC, is still unable to provide a stable energy supply due to long-term investment and governance problems that have been going on since 2003.