By Karim al-Hamdani
Azzaman, August 14, 2010
Iraq’s national grid is out and millions of Iraqis are without electricity amid scorching heat.
Iraqi provinces, apart from the three Kurdish provinces in the north, have plunged into darkness. The reason, according to the Electricity Ministry, is excessive use of electricity.
The ministry says many provinces have been ‘encroaching’ on the national grid, using more megawatts than their ‘legal’ allocations.
But it said that “the national grid should return to normal shortly.”
But even if the grid returns to normal, the power it generates is hardly sufficient for a few hours a day.
The failure of the grid has brought the country’s largest refinery in Baiji, north of Baghdad to a grinding halt.
“The refinery has stopped functioning. The failure in electricity brought the whole complex to a halt,” said an Oil Ministry source, refusing to be named.
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