Iraqi officials said in a statement that electricity was cut off in the country on Saturday. In a statement, the Ministry of Electricity said that the electricity grid was completely shut down at 12.40pm local time due to a fire that affected a transmission station in Basra province. The ministry stated that the power outage affected the whole of Iraq.

Collapsed infrastructure and failing public services, decades of conflict and widespread corruption in Iraq are exacerbating the problems. Yet the country with a population of 43 million is enormously rich in hydrocarbons.

Due to power outages, neighbourhood generators provide electricity to most homes. However, not all families have this opportunity and generators do not have enough power to run all household appliances, including air conditioners.

Every summer, when temperatures approach 50 degrees in the capital or the southern regions, power outages aggravate daily life.