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Iraq’s national grid grinds to a halt

The Iraqi capital Baghdad and other major cities are plunged into darkness due to prolonged disruptions of power supplies from the national grid, a source at the Ministry of Electricity said.

The stoppage is the severest to hit Iraq and comes amid reports of further fuel shortages and more acts of sabotage directed at electricity towers and stations.

Nearly four years after U.S. invasion, the country’s power generating capacity has plummeting to levels unseen before despite investments estimated at billions of dollars.

The shortages follow a halt in the export of gas oil from Turkey used in driving major power stations in the country.

Both Turkey and Kuwait have also unexpectedly halted exports of electricity to the country.

Aziz Sultan of the Electricity Ministry said neither the Turks nor the Kuwaitis have given any reason for their latest actions.

However, Sultan, who heads the ministry’s information department, said violence and sabotage were the main reason for the poor performance of the grid.

He said certain parts of the country were still ‘no-go areas’ for electricity technicians. “Pylons and lines damaged in these areas cannot be repaired,” he added.

Sultan urged U.S. occupation troops and Iraqi forces to provide enough security for the ministry’s repair teams to be able to work in violent areas.

The other crucial problem was related to fuel, he added.

Natural gas-driven plants were not working because of lack of fuel. Natural gas output has plunged recently, he said without ,elaborating.

“Available capacity in the range of 600 megawatts is out of reach now because we have no more fuel to run the plants,” he said.

Iraq’s national grid grinds to a halt | By Ammar Imad | Azzaman, January 13, 2008