Desperate Iraqis Lack Fuel, Electricity

By Ben Lando, UPI. Posted January 23, 2008.

You can't have one without the other, but with many of Iraq's power plants shut and refineries stopped, Iraqis have neither fuel nor electricity.

Iraq's Electricity Ministry is blaming the Oil Ministry for cutting fuel supplies and Turkey for ending electricity imports.

The Oil Ministry says continuous power to its refineries will lead to continuous supplies of fuel.

"We hear a lot of promises but we see nothing," Baghdad resident Amjad Kazim told Gulf News. Blackouts and long lines at the fuel stations are increasing as subsidized, state-controlled supplies run dry and the black market boosts prices.

In Baghdad's neighborhoods, black market auto fuel prices have jumped by nearly 20 percent in the past week, according to IraqSlogger.com.

Various U.S. government reports show fuel supplies are half the target and the ministries are unable to make the needed capital investment.

Iraq suffered from extensive power outages last summer, but reports showed steadily increasing capacity and delivery of electricity through the end of the year. Now there are widespread reports of two hours of power a day through much of the country.

"We have not had electricity for a week now and it took me about four hours to buy fuel for my car," east Baghdad resident Jaafar Dhia Ali said in a U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report. Winter has set in reaching below zero temperatures in Baghdad alone.

"There are 20 of us living in this house as I'm hosting my two displaced brothers' families," Ali said, adding the kerosene heaters are running close to empty but black market prices -- $1 per liter -- are too high.

Electricity demand is up and supply down from Jan. 9-15, according to the State Department's Iraq Weekly Status Report. "The average weekly supply was the lowest since January 2005 and the percentage of demand met was the lowest since at least December 2003."

The Electricity Ministry has for months pressed the Oil Ministry to deliver increased and more reliable supplies of fuel to operate the power stations.

"Oil and gas pumping from Kirkuk fields to our northern and southern plants over the past two weeks has stopped," Electricity Ministry spokesman Aziz Sultan said in the U.N. report. "Furthermore, the decision on Jan. 4 by Turkish power provider Kartet to stop exporting electricity to Iraq is also to blame." He also blamed Kuwait not sending needed fuel for the power plants.

Kartet said in a statement Iraqi fuel for a power station in Turkey had been stopped, prompting their cuts.

"We are doing our best," said Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad. He blamed a power-plant outage for the lack of power needed to keep oil production in operation.

"We cannot be blamed for this shortfall," he said. "Once there is a stable power supply we will have uninterrupted oil and gas production."

From Dec. 24-31, according to the State Department report, the supplies of heating and auto fuels were 42 percent to 67 percent short of the supply target.

See more stories tagged with: iraq, fuel, electricity

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from War on Iraq! Sign up now »