N. Z. MOSAKI Candidate of Historical Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Federal Tax Service Keywords: Iraq, Iraq (Southern Region) Kurdistan, electric power industry, power stations Political successes of the Iraqi (Southern)State The Kurdistan region is largely dependent on the development of its energy sector, which has been characterized by steady growth in recent years, which strengthens the economic and political autonomy of the South Kurdistan administration from the central authorities in Baghdad. Prior to the imposition of sanctions on Iraq after the occupation of Kuwait, the territory of the Kurdish Autonomous Region (QAR), created by the Iraqi authorities in 1974 and comprising the provinces of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, was connected to the pan-Iraqi electricity grid, from which QAR received electricity. In the territory of KAR, electricity generation was carried out at the Dukan and Derbendikhan hydroelectric power stations (Sulaymaniyah province). The nominal capacity of the Dukan HPP, built in 1975 on the Maly Zab River, is 400 MW, and the Derbendikhan HPP on the Sirvan River, which began operating in 1987, is 249 MW. However, their real power is significantly lower. From May to September, it is about 2.5 times less than the nominal value, and in winter it is 10 times less, which is due to the climatic conditions of the region, namely, different water levels in rivers. In September 1992, the central Government imposed an embargo on the Kurdistan Region and cut off Erbil and Sulaymaniyah from the Iraqi national grid, and between August 1993 and August 1995, largely cut off Dohuk, formerly linked to Mosul. Thus, in the mid-1990s, Kurdistan was completely disconnected from the Iraqi energy system, after which the Kurdistan authorities were forced to build their own power system and built new power lines from the Dukan and Derbendikhan hydroelectric power stations, bypassing Kirkuk, which remained under the contro ... Read more