April 21, 2011Iraq has doubled its electricity capacity
Iraq has doubled its electricity capacity over prewar levels, making dramatic headway in a critical benchmark that had plagued U.S. leaders and frustrated Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Iraq’s supply of electricity is 7,900 megawatts, about double the levels before the war, according to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Demand for electricity has increased 73% since 2005 to 15,300 megawatts, according to embassy statistics.
For years, Iraq’s sputtering electrical grid was a symbol of U.S. inability to rebuild Iraq in the face of growing chaos.
Iraq has increased capacity by renovating plants, buying power from outside the country and improving transmission lines. Much of the capacity was increased in the past three years, according to U.S. military statistics.
The United States has contributed $4.6 billion since 2003 to Iraq’s efforts to restore electricity.
“They generate and transmit more electricity now than they ever have in the past,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.
Even with the increase, Iraq will fall short of what is needed because demand for power is skyrocketing at an even faster clip. Iraqis have access to computers, wide-screen televisions, air conditioners and other items that were in short supply when the country was under sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
read full article @ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2011-04-20-electric-iraq-power.htm
Iraq’s supply of electricity is 7,900 megawatts, about double the levels before the war, according to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Demand for electricity has increased 73% since 2005 to 15,300 megawatts, according to embassy statistics.
For years, Iraq’s sputtering electrical grid was a symbol of U.S. inability to rebuild Iraq in the face of growing chaos.
Iraq has increased capacity by renovating plants, buying power from outside the country and improving transmission lines. Much of the capacity was increased in the past three years, according to U.S. military statistics.
The United States has contributed $4.6 billion since 2003 to Iraq’s efforts to restore electricity.
“They generate and transmit more electricity now than they ever have in the past,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.
Even with the increase, Iraq will fall short of what is needed because demand for power is skyrocketing at an even faster clip. Iraqis have access to computers, wide-screen televisions, air conditioners and other items that were in short supply when the country was under sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
read full article @ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2011-04-20-electric-iraq-power.htm
