Iraqis face hurdles on road to power independence

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Iraqis face hurdles on road to power independence
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, November 13, 2008

BAGHDAD — Across Iraq, American advisers favor free market solutions to solving Iraq’s problems, but the country’s persistent electricity shortages have so far required more government involvement.

Enterprising locals have, indeed, tried to make money off the shortages by setting up private generators and selling power on their own. But these entrepreneurs have so far been unable to meet electrical needs in the same way that small stores and kiosks fulfill consumer demand.

This is partly because there are not enough Iraqis who can afford the initial investment required to buy a generator large enough for multiple homes, said Tarick al-Khazraji, an English-speaking contractor and engineering consultant who’s worked with Iraq’s power grid since the Saddam Hussein era.

Power from private generators also costs more than power from the American-donated generators because the owners expect to make a profit. Iraqis also frequently complain that generators are off longer than they are supposed to be because they have no way to ensure they get the full six to eight hours of power they pay for.

In the minds of many soldiers and Iraqis, private generator operators are like black market fuel sellers: They provide an important service, but they aren’t really legitimate.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58786