Iraq's electricity: The other power struggle

[muriel_volestrangler]

I don't think this has been posted before, but it is a couple of days old.

http://www.iht.com/articles/524817.html

James Glanz/NYT

The United Nations estimated that before the war, Iraq could produce 4,500 megawatts of electricity at any given time. With the fighting and looting, the production capacity plunged wildly, before beginning to rebound. Capacity has been stuck in a range around 4,000 megawatts for months. Not only is that less than during the Saddam Hussein era, but it is also far below the U.S. promise of 6,000 megawatts.
...
Iraqis are skilled at balancing the vast swirl of electrical supply and demand on their grid with phone calls and intuition, while Americans rely on computerized sensors and automatic control circuitry.
...
"They said early March and then they said early May and finally they said early June the electricity would be perfect," said Feras al-Rubae, a money-changer who sat sullenly in his stuffy shop in the middle-class shopping district of Outer Karada during a power failure. "But now it is early June, and where is the promise?"
...
But those numbers fail to impress many Iraqis. "The Americans, all of them, move very slowly," said Raad al-Haris, the deputy minister of electricity. "We thought before that the Americans will do some excellent job and they can cover the demand," he said, spitting out the words in slightly imperfect English. "But until now," he said, his voice rising, "we have only peanut."

[phantom power]

1. someone should let them know

that we're not doing so hot at managing our own power-grid, never mind anyone else's

[struggle4progress]

2. Ever try to live without electricity?

This one issue may have cost us more hearts and minds than anything else ...