More generators come online to provide electricity to Iraq (15/09/04)

Two more electricity generators that had fallen into disrepair under Iraq's former regime returned to service on Saturday, producing enough electricity to fuel 72,000 Iraqi homes. Engineers from both Iraq and the US brought the generators - seven megawatts in the south and 17 megawatts north of the city - online.

“This is a very important step in overcoming the power shortage across the country,” said Raad Shalal, a senior official at the Ministry of Electricity official. “This will help us reach our goal of increasing power for Baghdad and the country.”

Enough electricity is being produced to fuel 72,000 Iraqi homes

Electricity production in the country averages approximately 5,000 megawatts, a total that services an estimated 15 million Iraqi homes and exceeds the pre-war level of 4,400 Megawatts.

“We continue to work in partnership with the Ministry of Electricity and the Iraqi people to bring the country more electricity,” said Major Erik Stor, operations officer for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Restore Iraqi Electricity Directorate. “We know how important electricity is to the safety and security of the Iraqi people, and we continue to work on their behalf with the ministry to bring the country additional electricity.”

Since regime change in the country, much of the news in Baghdad has focused on the availability of less power in the capital city, though Stor claims that this is misleading.

“It is important to remember that Baghdad was one of few cities across this nation that had electrical service prior to regime change,” he said. “Within months of freeing the Iraqi people from the Saddam rule, power was redistributed to help build a fair and equitable national power system for Iraq and its future.”

Despite the addition of power to the country’s national grid, the demand for electricity in Iraq continues to grow, according to a fact sheet published by the Ministry of Electricity. “With more than half a million new jobs created, new industries and new factories, Iraq has experienced a rapid increase in electricity demand,” the sheet reads. “The increase in demand is a good sign of a thriving economy emerging from three decades of isolation.”

Since beginning its work in the country nearly a year ago, an additional 1,621 megawatts have been added to Iraq's national grid, enough to service 4.8 million Iraqi homes.

Source: USACE