Electricity: Installing smart meters for citizens is free, and its project differs from "privatization."

Ministry of Electricity spokesperson Ahmed Moussa confirmed that the ministry has completed the installation of smart meters in a number of government departments in the governorates of Kirkuk, Wasit, Diyala, and Anbar, in addition to the capital, Baghdad, as part of the first phase of the smart meter project. While noting that the project is completely different from the "privatization" experience, he emphasized that the installation of these meters is free of charge to citizens.
Moussa said, "The installation of the meters has included government departments in several governorates and is part of a phased plan aimed at regulating collection and improving distribution efficiency." He explained that "the ministry is currently focusing on this phase before moving on to other phases, including feeders and residential areas."
He added, "The lack of meters on the 11-kilovolt and 33-kilovolt feeders has prevented the ministry from accurately calculating the amount of energy supplied or determining revenues fairly. Therefore, the ministry is working to address this shortcoming as part of its current plan." Regarding the comparison to the "privatization" project, Musa explained that "the previous project was based on contracting with service companies in certain areas, such as Al-Saydiyah. These contracts were subsequently reviewed after evaluating performance during the first year." He emphasized that "the current smart meters, for their part, are installed free of charge as part of an integrated national energy management project, and are not part of a commercial contract."
He explained that "the current experiment has proven successful in a number of areas, such as the Yarmouk, Zayouna, and Al-Qadisiyah neighborhoods, while it failed in other areas during the previous phase." He noted that "the ministry is determined to continue with the smart meter project until it achieves complete success, because there is no alternative to implementing a smart meter system to ensure accurate collection and equitable distribution."