www.nationalreview.com/comment/vincent200508020823.asp
Basra, Iraq In the middle of an interview with Sheik Abdul al-Baghdali, an American-hating supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr, the lights in his offi ce suddenly went out. "This is what your country has done to Iraq," he s norted, "stolen its electricity." On his pumpkin-sized face was the insu fferable smirk of a man who knows right or wrong he has you beat in an argument.
Understandably enough, the shortage of electricity throughout Iraq is a major source of citizen anger. In B asra, the kahrabaa is on for three hours, off for three, giving numerous opportunities for people to blame America and pine for the energy-rich days of Saddam. And since like most journalists, my knowledge of electri city extends no further than an on/off switch, I hadn't the foggiest ide a how to respond. it should be ablaze with energy especially since Uncle Sam has inv ested over $1 billion dollars in this sector. To find out, I went to the Electrical Energy Transmission Directorate to speak to well, let's call him Dr. "In 1991, Iraq generated a total of 9,000 megawatts, while it consumed 5, 000. During the Kuwaiti War, the allies damaged or destroyed 90 percent of our power grid, reducing production to zero. B continued, production had increased to 5,000 megawatts, matching national consumption. Just before the latest war, however, power generation had declined again, to 2,700-4,500 megawa tts. After an aside about how increasing numbers of his Directorate's employee s belong to the religious parties that now dominate Basra ("they listen and watch everything then report back to the turbans") the good doctor c ut to the quick: "Today, Iraq produces 3,000-4,000 megawatts, while its demand is 8,000. The reasons for this shortfall, he went on, include a lack of up-to-date power plants (the last were built in 1991), deteriorating equipment (bec ause existing plants have to go 24/7 to meet electricity demands, offici als can't pull them offline for maintenance) and, of course, terrorists who target the energy infrastructure. The south has its particular problems, he continued, among them the incre ased salinization of the Shatt-al-Arab due to Saddam's wars and disastro us environmental policies (salty water does a poorer job of cooling gene rators and attracts barnacles from the Gulf, which obstruct water condui ts). Meanwhile, "religious parties place incompetent people in high posi tions. Some 900 high-voltage towers were des troyed during the last war: 50 by Coalition troops, 850 by looters. Abou t a year ago, the Garamsha, a tribe particularly feared for their crimin al activities, got in a firefight with the rival Halaf tribe, in the pro cess destroying most of a sub-station on the north end of Basra. Six mon ths ago, the Garamsha wrecked 10 high voltage towers, bringing down one 400 and two 132 kilovolt transmission lines. "Today, we pay the Garamsha to 'guard' the powerlines," said Dr. B "Actu ally, they don't do any work, they simply collect their money." The Iraq i government also buys "protection" from militias belonging to the relig ious parties, the doctor added. There's yet another reason for Basra's power shortage, one that people he re rarely mention: Basrans themselves. "We pay only three dinars per kil owat hour for us, electricity is essentially free so we have no incent ive to conserve," said Hayder Abbas, Manager of the Power Distribution D irectorate. B, who oversees electrical transmission for Iraq's four south ermost provinces, the quiet-spoken, to-the-point Abbas supervises local use of kahrabaa. "Basra province's consumption is about 800 megawatts pe r hour, but we produce only 550." The main problem is the al-Hartha plan t at the northern end of Basra city, which was designed to produce 800 M Wh, but damage from Gulf War I and II cut that figure in half. Meanwhile, Abbas continued, Basrans' salaries have dramatically increased , encouraging people to splurge on such appliances as washing machines, televisions, computers, and especially air conditioners. "Some homes hav e three or four a/c units, each unit consuming large amounts of electric ity." Basrans purchase 10-15 of these energy-eaters a day, Abbas estimat ed. To fill the gap left by the inconstant power grid, people rely on private generators, which cost about 20,000 dinars to power a house for three h ours. Generator owners also sell electricity, resulting in so-called "sp ider webs" of power lines criss-crossing residential neighorhoods. Poore r Basrans can't afford this home-made kahrabaa, of course, while those w ho have generators face the inconvenience of starting the machines every three hours, then shutting them off again when the electricity returns three hours later. "We must do this all day, every day," an Iraqi housew ife told me. The World Bank estimates t hat Iraq's entire power sector needs investments of $12 billion. In a re cent press conference, Iraq's electricity minister Mohsen Alloush stated that the country needed $20 billion to raise the grid to 18,000 megawat ts by 2010 although some estimates put the amount at $35 billion. Importing electricity from neighboring countries is another option and indeed, Iraq currently imports some 100 MW a year from Iran, an amount t hat Tehran says will increase to 400 MW in two years. Turkey exports aro und 350 MW, and plans to increase that amount to 1,000 MW Other electri city sources include Syria and Kuwait. Kuwait, for example, charges around 90 Iraq dinars per kilowat hour 45 times what its costs Iraqi to produce the same amount. B, "countries don't like to expor t electricity to Iraq. Sabotage to our electrical lines causes short-cir cuits in theirs." Currently, there are no methods for billing individual hom es, and, more importantly, no system of enforcement to ensure payment co mpliance. "In any case, people would just continue doing what they're do ing now stealing electricity by tapping into power lines," remarked Dr . Abbas estimated that if Basrans reduce their en ergy consumption by half, they could enjoy 24-hour electricity. To test his theory, I asked friend s if they'd be willing to cut back on their lights, wide-screen TV watch ing, washing machines and, above all, air conditioning. Iraq sits on a sea of oil," is a typical response, followed by the usual slam against America. "Well, of course," Abbas replied, when I gave him the results of my poll. "People were deprived of power for so long, they now feel they have a r ight to as much as possible." Sighing, he added, "Iraqis have no sense o f moderation. If you're thirsty, you drink as much as you can, even if y ou're no longer thirsty. Basrans have gotten used to a certain degree of comfort, and they don't want to let it go." It's not an answer that wou ld satisfy Sheik Baghdali, of course but then again, for Basrans like him, it's always easier to sit in the dark in an un-air conditioned room and curse America. Steven Vincent is a freelance investigative journalist and art critic i n New York City.
|
http://csua.com/feed/