From one moment to the next, Sami al-Dulaimi’s life changed from joy to sorrow.His family was celebrating the 7th birthday of their youngest child, Uthman, at their house in Hay al-Taameem, in Ramadi city, when they heard their father screaming.He had gone to the garden to add fuel to his electricity generator, while it was still on. In seconds, he was engulfed in flames, and died from his burns.
This incident is not uncommon in Anbar. Several people have died in similar circumstances.Members of the deceased’s family were among the protesters in Ramadi recently calling on the local government to improve the service sector and, in particular, the electricity supply.
Thaer al-Dulaimi, the younger brother of the deceased, said that his neighbourhood has up to 22 hours of power cuts a day. "This does not only happen in the city centre but in all districts, neighbourhoods and villages," he added.Most people use generators; the large ones are owned by local investors. They provide people with electricity, but the price is high.
Dulaimi works as a truck driver and earns less than US $600 per month. He pays 12,000 Iraqi dinars (about US $9) for 12 hours of electricity supply per day. The amount is doubled when the supply is for 24 hours a day.The owners of the generators say that the prices are high because they cannot rely on receiving subsidized fuel from the state and are forced to buy fuel from the black market.
Ahmad Mansour owns ones of these generators Taameem neighbourhood. He receives 15 litres of subsidized fuel per 1 kilo-watt."That is not enough for half a month’s supply of electricity, so we buy fuel from the market and increase the supply prices," he says.The local government in Anbar blames the Electricity Ministry for the shortage in supply.
Khalil Ibrahim is an engineer and the director general of Ramadi’s electricity department: "Anbar is supposed to receive 800 megawatt every year. But we only get 170-180. This quantity is not enough to repair the networks and doesn’t cover the city’s needs. Al-Anbar has been treated unfairly!"
Qasem Abed, Anbar’s governor, told Anbar’s official channel that the Electricity Ministry was not co-operating and was not seriously committed towards its obligations.Anbar’s quota of 800 megawatts was allocated when the economy was paralyzed and when most of province’s areas were controlled by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq Organisation, he said.
"Today, the province’s needs are much higher because of the stable security situation, the normal living conditions and the increase in economic activity."Anbar province ranks third after Basra and Ninawa with regard to its power supply needs.It requires 1145 megawatts of electricity across the province, which includes the amount needed to operate factories and plants.
In the past two years, the US provincial reconstruction team has distributed 400 electric generators, mostly in Fallujah district and in the city centre to provide disadvantaged areas with just a few hours of electricity supply.The Electricity Ministry has signed a contract with investors and private companies to light roads using solar energy in a number of districts in the province.
But the director general of the electricity department said that these steps are "insufficient" and some are a waste of money.According to engineer, Khalil Ibrahim, the electricity poles which were installed in the districts of Fallujah and Ramadi are only a temporary solution.
"After six months, the batteries no longer work, because of the climate in Iraq. These batteries are designed to work under conditions that are not available in this country."He pointed out that the contracts were marred by corruption. "Most contractors installed cheaply-made lighting poles and sold them for a very high price to make quick profits. They were able to do so because the work was unsupervised."
The local government in Anbar is hoping to persuade the Electricity Ministry to sign contracts with neighbouring countries to supply the province with its electricity needs.According to Anbar’s governor, "the powers vested in the governor do not allow him to sign such agreements with other foreign countries. This should be done exclusively by the central government."
He revealed that the provincial council intends to use part of its custom revenues from Waleed and Tarbeel ports, which border Syria and Jordan respectively, to install new electric power stations and complete the work at Zawiya thermal station. An official request has been submitted to the Baghdad government in this regard.
In 2000, the Iraqi authorities started to build Zawiya station, but the work stopped when the Iraqi regime fell in 2003."When the work on this station is completed, it will provide the province with 1800 megawatts of electric power," said the director general of Ramadi’s electricity department.
The province is offering a number of investment projects in electricity production and supply. But most of these projects are still waiting for foreign investors.They include the installment of a gas pipeline to connect Ukaz field with the Heet thermal station, which stopped working due to the shortage in fuel. There are two other projects to build electricity stations that use gas to generate electricity.
Among the "temporary" solutions to the electricity problem, the provincial council has recently purchased 375 electricity generators to replace the old ones.In spite of tireless efforts to resolve the electricity crisis in the largest province in Iraq, there is no foreseeable solution to the problem, said Ibrahim. "However next summer, will witness some improvement in power supply," he asserted.
Ibrahim said that the newly appointed minister is expected to take practical steps to secure power supply."If the Ministry continues to treat people in an unjust manner and neglect their demands, Anbar will witness social unrest," he warned.
0 Comments