Iraq electricity minister: US will continue exemptions for Iranian electricity imports
Iraqi Minister of Electricity Luay al-Khatteeb told Al-Monitor that US exemptions in the energy sector will continue amid tensions in US-Iran relations.
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Minister of Electricity Luay al-Khatteeb talked about the situation of Iraq’s electricity sector amid tense US-Iran relations. He discussed the waiver timeline that Washington granted Baghdad to keep buying Iranian gas and mentioned his fear that some parties are politicizing the electricity sector in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government voted Oct. 25, 2018 to appoint Khatteeb as minister of electricity. Before he was tasked with the ministry, Khatteeb was director of the Iraq Energy Institute and worked as an engineer for several international companies such as British Gas, the Dutch Shell Company and the Indonesian National Oil Company.
Al-Monitor: Does Iraq have any concerns in the electricity sector due to US-Iranian tensions?
Khatteeb: We have taken our precautions, specifically in summer, by putting more optimistic productivity plans, compared to 2018. We increased production for May by around 3,500 megawatts compared to electricity production levels in 2018.
