The Kurdistan Regional Government has returned nearly 8 billion Iraqi dinars to residents following a 20% electricity fee waiver. This initiative applies to citizens who paid their bills through the electronic payment system (e-psula). Officials say the decision aimed to ease financial pressure and encourage digital payments.
Additionally, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced the measure on February 10. Authorities continued the waiver until February 24. However, officials have not yet decided whether they will extend the program further. Despite this uncertainty, the policy has already delivered noticeable financial relief to many households.
Moreover, according to data from the Ministry of Electricity, around 200,000 households benefited from the program. These families paid electricity bills for the final months of last year and the first month of this year using the e-psula system. As a result, the government refunded part of its payments through a structured electronic process.
Furthermore, officials reported that each household received an average refund of about 40,000 dinars. The government credited this amount directly to users’ electricity accounts. Consequently, when February bills were issued, the system automatically deducted the refunded amount from the total charges.
Therefore, this process produced an important result. Nearly 18,000 households received zero-value electricity bills for February. In other words, these families did not need to pay anything for that month. This outcome highlights the direct financial benefit of the initiative.
In addition, the figures confirm the scale of the program. The government returned a total of about 8 billion dinars to citizens. Around 200,000 subscribers benefited from the 20% waiver, while thousands experienced complete bill coverage for one month.
Overall, this policy supports residents, promotes digital payment systems, and strengthens trust in public services across Erbil, while encouraging efficiency, transparency, and long-term financial stability in the region, benefiting households and improving service delivery.
