Blackout rage: Iraq’s central provinces erupt over crippling power cuts

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s central provinces, including Najaf, Karbala, al-Diwaniyah, Babil, and al-Muthanna, are facing a worsening power crisis as summer temperatures rise, triggering protests and exposing persistent “service failures.”

Residents are enduring daily blackouts of up to six hours. Protests have erupted in multiple cities, with demonstrators blocking roads, burning tires, and confronting security forces over what many describe as “chronic government neglect.”

Despite repeated federal pledges to stabilize the power grid, most communities still rely on costly private generators—an unsustainable option for low-income households. Protesters are demanding urgent reforms and a fairer share of the national power supply.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Karbala MP Jawad Al-Yassari, who is also the Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Regions and Provinces Committee, criticized the Ministry of Electricity for excluding local officials from managing key power stations. “Facilities like Al-Khairat and Al-Kamaliya operate under federal discretion. Local authorities have no input, even though the province suffers daily outages.”

He also attributed the crisis to “political dysfunction and failed investments” that have paralyzed service delivery.

In Babil, Provincial Council member Mohammed Al-Mansouri underscored years of neglect. “We’ve been sidelined for more than a decade. Unemployment is rampant. Over 5,000 graduates have protested for months without a single response,” he remarked, accusing Baghdad of diverting locally generated electricity to other provinces.

Meanwhile, Najaf activist Ali Tuweij portrayed the power cuts as part of a broader collapse, warning, “It’s more than electricity. There’s no clean water. Garbage piles up around schools, hospitals, and homes. These problems have been ignored for years.”