BABIL, Iraq — Electricity generators have often saved Iraqis from summer temperatures that can reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Yet, they have also become a symbol for Iraqis suffering a lack of basic services, especially electricity. Generators have also become evidence that the government has failed to supply sufficient electricity.
One of the most notable plans was the Ministry of Electricity’s announcement in April 2013 that 2015 would witness an end to the electricity crisis and that the next year’s summer is set to become better than the ones that preceded it in terms of electricity. However, such promises have come to naught.