Homes and businesses nationwide suffer daily power cuts and rely on generators to fill the gap, as the war-ravaged country struggles to boost its generating capacity.
Kirkuk's provincial council threatened last summer to cut itself off from the grid, calling on the ministry of electricity to increase the province's electricity allocation from 180 megawatts to at least 300 megawatts.
The province's three power stations produce about 500 megawatts of electricity, with the majority of that being sent to Baghdad, Salahaddin and Dohuk provinces.
Yaljin Mehdi, the head of electricity distribution for the province, said the decision to separate from the national grid would result in Kirkuk receiving all 500 megawatts produced internally.
Iraq's demand for electricity totals around 15,000 megawatts, compared with total supply of 7,000-6,000 MW produced locally, and 1,000 MW imported.
Angry Iraqis staged violent demonstrations last summer in several southern cities over power rationing as temperatures reached 54 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit).
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose electricity minister resigned following those protests, warned in June that two more years of shortages lay ahead as there was no quick fix to the problem.
(Source: AFP)
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