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Power Grid In Iraq Far From Fixed
Billions More Needed
A network of dangerous cables links homes in the Topchi neighborhood in Baghdad to a privately owned generator that supplies electricity during the hours when state power plants cannot.
(Photos By Bassam Sebti For The Washington Post)
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During a review of U.S. reconstruction spending last year, about $1 billion was diverted to security programs from the $5.5 billion that Congress had allocated for electricity improvement in late 2003.
Of the $4.3 billion still currently assigned to the electric sector, $961 million had been spent as of mid-April, according to the latest State Department figures. With the $230 million spent on emergency repairs in 2003, the total outlay so far is at least $1.2 billion. Another $2.9 billion is currently under contract, the figures show.
Last year, a joint United Nations and World Bank study estimated that restoring Iraq's power sector would cost $12 billion through 2007. That will require international investment, which is likely only after drastic improvement in security and legal reforms, experts say.
Despite their ubiquity, generators are beyond the family budget for millions of Iraqis. "It is too much for a family with one breadwinner," said Um Abeer, who lives in Topchi with her brother and daughter in a tiny house with cracked walls and, during a recent visit, no power.
"We are tired from just thinking of the coming summer," Um Abeer said, adding, "I am confident that the new government will not listen to the Americans and will start depending on the Iraqi experience to return the power back."
Electrician Ahmed Abdul Sahib, however, said the Americans still have a big role to play. "They occupied Iraq so they are responsible," said Sahib, 43. "If they are making Iraq a model for democracy, they must make things go well. Others will not welcome American democracy if they see Iraq in this situation."
Correspondent Anthony Shadid contributed to this report.
