ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Electricity production at Sulaimani province’s Dukan Dam hydroelectric station has been halted due to low water levels.
“The reason for the suspension is a water shortage at Dukan Dam,” Ghalib Mohammed, director of Electricity Control in Sulaimani province, told Rudaw on Saturday.
Before the shutdown, “the Dukan station was operating with only one unit, which produced 40 to 45 megawatts,” he added.
With the low water levels, he said that their “main goal is to prevent drinking water problems for Sulaimani during the summer season.”
The Kurdistan Region and Iraq have received much less rain this year than normal.
Mohammed said that the situation is better at Darbandikhan Dam in southern Sulaimani province and its hydroelectric station is still operating, though it is shut down for several hours daily. It is generating about 70 megawatts of power, far below its capacity.
Unreliable electricity is a frequent headache in the Kurdistan Region. High demand, financial problems, and shortage of fuel supplies mean power stations in the Kurdistan Region cannot always operate at full capacity. People rely on private, environmentally-damaging generators when the national grid cuts out.
The government is working to supply round-the-clock power by the end of 2026 with an initiative dubbed Runaki - meaning “light” in Kurdish.
