By Hayder Al Shakeri for The National. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Why is energy-rich Iraq still having to import electricity? For more than a decade, Iraq's power system has relied heavily on Iranian gas and electricity imports, which at times provide up to a third of national supply. This has made Baghdad vulnerable to political pressure and US sanctions, both of which disrupt payments and deliveries as well as driving recurring blackouts.