Kurdistan’s Dukan dam halts power generation amid severe water shortage

Shafaq News/ Power generation at Iraq’s Dukan Dam has come to a complete halt due to plummeting water levels caused by poor rainfall this season, a local official said on Saturday.

Sirwan Mohammed, head of media at Al-Sulaymaniya Electricity Directorate, told Shafaq News Agency that “the water level at Dukan Dam has dropped significantly this year due to a lack of rainfall, which has led to a total suspension of power production. Not a single megawatt has been generated in recent days.”

Currently, all electricity production in the region relies solely on natural gas-powered plants, he added.

“At full capacity, when water levels are at their peak, the hydropower stations within Dukan Dam can generate up to 400 megawatts of electricity,” Mohammed noted. “But now, the output is zero due to the severe water shortage that has rendered the turbines inoperable.”

He emphasized that the remaining water reserves are being used exclusively for domestic consumption. “The decision to stop electricity generation was made in coordination with the General Directorate of Dams, whose priority is to secure drinking water over all other uses.”

The Kurdistan Region has faced increasingly erratic climate patterns and chronic water scarcity in recent years, sharply reducing its ability to generate hydroelectric power. The crisis has intensified pressure on alternative energy sources, especially amid surging demand during the summer months.