A sudden failure of power transmission lines in Iraq on Monday caused a nationwide power outage, the country's Ministry of Energy reported, according to UNN, citing Xinhua.
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Deputy Minister for Production Affairs Mohammed Nema said that technical teams are working to fix the problem and have begun gradually restoring power. It is expected to be fully restored within several hours.
Ministry spokesman Ahmed Musa told the state-run Iraqi News Agency that the outage was caused by an overload of the power system, especially in Babil province and the Shiite holy city of Karbala, where millions of pilgrims gathered for the Arbaeen religious ritual.
He said that record high temperatures, increasing demand, and increased electrical load disconnected transmission lines, taking more than 6,000 megawatts offline. He added that the sudden drop in power accelerated the frequency of generator units, leading to their automatic shutdown.
In recent days, Iraq has been hit by a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching around 50 degrees Celsius in several provinces, further increasing the strain on the country's power system.