Iraqi Ministry of Electricity will import 250 megawatts from the United Arab Emirates in a bid to reduce the electricity shortage. The UAE Oilfield Services will inject the power into the Iraqi grids, said Ministry Spokesperson Musaab al-Mudarres. The price for each kilowatt per hour is 7.5 cents and the mechanism of payment will be based on the generated and consumed power. Mudarres said the Ministry will annul the contract in case the company fails to install and provide electricity within two months. He insisted that the company should be providing electricity in July.
Lack of electricity as well as frequent power cuts in the scorching heat of summer led to violent protest in southern and central Iraqi provinces last year.
The country demands no less than 15,000MWs while it can provide less than half of this demand, 7,000MWs. To fill the gap Iraqis mainly depend on private generators in each neighborhood which operate under the supervision of the government. Sometimes the generators have to provide power for 18 hours.
Despite the substantial funds allocated to the electricity sector since 2003, the sector fails to reach self-sufficiency in power generation. This is while the government claims it will reach self-sufficiency by the end of 2013.
AKnews
May 11
