Skip to main content

Lights out on Maliki's electricity promises

Ali al-Fayyad, deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's Energy Committee, said he's hoping the private sector steps in to ease the electricity crisis that the people have suffered from for decades, especially in the scorching summer months.
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SALAM FARAJ
An Iraqi boy uses the light at the end of a lighter to study during a power outage in Baghdad on March 19, 2014. As recently as the 1970s, the Iraqi capital was lauded as a model city in the Arab world, but now, after decades of seemingly endless conflict, it is the world's worst city according to the latest survey by the Mercer consulting group. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI        (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)
Read in 

A week ago, Mohammed Karim bought a small inflatable pool for his three children to ease the scorching heat during power outages. He has a two-year-old toddler who cannot bear the high temperatures at night, so Mohammed stays up late next to him until the power comes back so he can place him under the air conditioner.

Since the 1990s, Iraq has suffered from a significant shortage in power, after the US military targeted power stations during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991. And the electricity problem worsened after the occupation of Baghdad in April 2003.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.