Jordan to provide western Iraq with electricity (13/03/05)

Jordan and Egypt have agreed in principle to provide western Iraq with electricity through a network separate from the Iraqi national grid. National Electric Company (NEC) Director General Ahmad Hiyasat said the three countries had approved a request by an Iraqi private sector company to build a 132-kilovolt cable for a distance of 200 kilometres to connect the electric power transformer at the Jordanian town of Risheh, close to the Iraqi-Jordanian border, with Ukashat district in western Iraq.

Jordan will aid the supply of electricity

The Iraqi Electro Energy Company, owned by Iraqi investors, has already reached agreement with the concerned authorities to conduct a survey of the route and to lay down the conveyor cable, while the Jordanian NEC will provide consultancy services to the investors. Hiyasat expected the three countries to reach agreement soon on procedural measures for exporting electricity from Jordan and Egypt to Iraq.

The supply of power to western Iraq will be subject to a financial and technical conditions, Hiyasat remarked.

Jordan will provide the electricity from its own resources or through import-export transactions.

Referring to the power linkage among Arab states, Hiyasat indicated that Egypt, Jordan and Syria are already connected to a system that reduces the cost of electric supply, because any sudden shortage in one of the three countries will be replenished by the other partners without extra power generation.

Egypt's national grid is also connected to the Libyan national network while Syria, whose grid is linked to Jordan's network, is about to link up with Lebanon's network and to Turkey at a later stage. Hiyasat said that once these countries are connected, the project for linking them with North Africa's countries will be ready. Such a scheme will improve the connection with Europe especially now that Tunisia is already connected to the European network.

Source: Zawya