A fire broke out at a power station in Basra governorate on Saturday, causing a full blackout in the country, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said, adding service would back to normal in the coming hours.
The fire at the Al-Bkir substation in Basra at 12:40 pm (local time), resulted in the separation of transmission lines linking the southern and central regions, leading to a complete shutdown of the electrical system in the area, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said in a statement. It said the fire was accidental.
The power outage came as the electrical system faces other challenges, including fuel shortages and surging demands for electricity during a major heat wave. On Saturday, temperatures reached 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 degrees Farenheit).
Work is underway quickly through the country’s bodies to restore the separate units and transmission lines to help return service normally in the coming hours, it noted.
Also on Saturday, the company that handles electricity transmission in the north reported that the northern transmission line in a remote area outside the city of Haditha in western Iraq had been sabotaged. Three towers were hit by improvised explosive devices, putting the line out of service, the statement said.
