Iraqis protest power outage in Karbala

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Hundreds of protesters shut down a power plant in Iraq’s southern Karbala province on Sunday over repeated power outages.

Angry protesters barred employees from entering the plant in the al-Jammaliya area in the province until their demands are met.

“Hours of electricity cuts have increased at a time when temperatures are very high,” Yasir al-Hakim, a protester, told Anadolu Agency.

Iraqis suffer shortage in power supplies, especially in camps where thousands of displaced Iraqis live.

Iraq generates around 13,500 megawatts and plans to increase its capacity with an additional 3,500 megawatts this year, according to the Electricity Ministry.

Last month, the Iraqi government asked the Finance Ministry to negotiate over loans to finance electricity projects in the country.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara