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Efforts to privatize electricity face resistance in Iraq

Five southern provinces objected to the Iraqi government's decision to privatize the electricity sector in the country.
An electrician uses an Avometer to check wires connected to his local generator on a street in Baghdad, December 13, 2011. Iraq's financial system is slowly embracing the free market after years of tight control under Saddam; a fledging stock market is attracting foreign money while the banking and telecommunications industries are growing rapidly. But the national grid provides only a few hours of intermittent power a day, forcing Iraqis to live off noisy diesel-fueled generators. Picture taken December 13
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BAGHDAD — In a meeting held Feb. 21, Najaf’s provincial council followed in the footsteps of Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Wasit and Diwaniyah and voted against the privatization of the electricity sector in the province.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government insists on privatizing the distribution of electricity in all Iraqi regions, despite popular protests against this decision, which many believe harms the poor, who make up 30% of the country's population.

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