Power supplies improving

As people in Iraq talk of improved electricity supplies in the country, one of the reasons for the upturn could be the drop in temperature meaning that people turn off the energy-draining air-conditioning more often than they did when temperatures soared into the 50 degrees Celsius range. But Akbar Usmani, the deputy project director of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Iraq electricity project based in the Jordanian capital, Amman, prefers to believe that it is the increased generating capacity he and his engineers are able to provide that keeps the lights on longer in and around Baghdad. "It’s a bit of everything that has made the electricity work better," Usmani told IRIN in Amman. "The actual consumption now is less than it was in peak summer months." Power in the north, which was administered by the UN for the last 12 years, works virtually 24 hours a day. However, in central and southern Iraq, power during the summer months was on a three-hours-on-three-hours-off regime, according to Ministry of Electricity workers. However, there were often random power cuts, which had a devastating effect on hospitals, schools and businesses, halting their operations. In the last couple of months, UNDP workers have been repairing generators, replacing looted equipment and making sure that power is actually reaching consumers. Over recent months, saboteurs have often pulled down power lines attached to high-voltage transmission towers; looters would follow, taking copper cabling to sell as scrap. With help from a US $9-million grant from the UK's Department for International Development, workers had installed between 60 and 70 diesel generators at hospitals and water-pumping stations around the country, while engineers scoured the country looking for damaged pumping stations and power lines, Usmani said. "We did some small, quick fixes," he noted. "Now, we’re just about finished in terms of delivery." Power generation had been raised from about 3,500 MW daily before the war to about 5,500 MW, but even this was not always sufficient inasmuch as demand had jumped to about 9,000 MW per day, Usmani said. The increased demand comes in part from consumers buying new refrigerators, electric stoves and television satellite systems, which had been unavailable under the former regime. A Japanese grant of about $8 million and a Norwegian grant of about $1.3 million would also help the power grid, Usmani said. The ageing Al-Harithah power plant in the south would be repaired with the Japanese money. Spare parts were looted from the plant, which had already been in bad shape from years of UN-imposed sanctions. "We need new plants, but you need mega-bucks," Usmani stressed. "Remember, sanctions hurt Iraq a lot." Iraq’s electricity minister recently went to the US Congress to ask for more money to rebuild Iraq’s power grid. However, no final decision has yet been made on how much the Congress may give his ministry. Japan has also pledged an additional $1.5 billion to Iraq ahead of a Madrid donors' conference due to convene later this week - a significant sum, part of which is expected to go to electricity generation, according to Usmani. Between the Japanese, British and Norwegians, more than $400 million has been pledged specifically to rebuild the power grid. The electricity minister is currently in Jordan meeting contractors from around the region to discuss what remains to be done and how much it might cost. "This is a huge sector in [terms of] financial outlay," Usmani said. "Everyone is interested to see what will happen." UNDP had 60 or more engineers standing by to help, he said. "We’ve got the teams here already. We have the capacity to implement and deliver," he added. "We’ve been working on the Oil-for-Food programme, so we’re keeping the steam going." Under Iraq’s Oil-for-Food programme, the UN built and administered three power plants in northern Iraq, supplying power to about 250,000 new customers. The programme allowed former President Saddam Hussein to sell some of Iraq’s oil reserves to buy humanitarian aid for his people, mostly food. The UN administered 19 percent of the revenues in the north, including money for electricity, food and medicines. Norwegian funds would be spent on helping to keep power plants running in Kirkuk and Mosul, Usmani noted, while Japanese funds would be directed to establishing a national power dispatch centre. "We’re trying to cover the whole country with the donor funds," he said.