Kurdistan Parliament Energy and Natural Resources Committee member Karwan Gaznay told reporters at a televised press conference today in Erbil that the government still needs to supply people with subsidized kerosene.

"Initially, we need 258 million liters of kerosene to supply each household in the Kurdistan region with a barrel of kerosene," Gaznay said.

According to the lawmaker, up to January 2023, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has distributed only 43 million kerosene to the people, which equals 17 percent of the Kurdistan region's citizens. "That leaves 83 percent Kurdistan region households without fuel," the MP noted.

Gaznay blamed the government's lack of planning for distribution and the fuel price at 103,000 Iraqi Dinars as the main drive for the failure to provide every household with fuel to heat their homes in the winter. "The set price was not to help citizens but was for profit," the lawmaker told reporters. 

Several districts in the Kurdistan region have not received government-supplied kerosene for the past three years. Now the government sells kerosene at 103,500 Iraqi dinars to the citizens; many families still need help to purchase the fuel at the set price, leaving many without energy for the winter.

Many have resorted to firewood and other energy sources to heat their homes in the winter amid high energy prices, with environmental activists warning of increased logging for firewood.