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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

IRAQ: Power shortage in south prompts major health concerns

BASRA, 21 June 2004 (IRIN) - With the summer heat well under way, power shortages across Iraq and particularly the south have prompted health concerns. At present there are only up to eight hours of electricity a day in the city of Basra.

"We have huge concerns over this issue. For example, hospitals will not be able to carry out surgery, vaccines will be affected, water pumps will be out of action resulting in a lack of safe water. There are many negative affects," Dr Naeema al-Gasseer, representative for the World Health Organization's (WHO) Iraq operations, told IRIN from the Jordanian capital, Amman. Diarrhoeal and other water-borne diseases could also become widespread.

She added that, in order to minimise risks, health education had been given in preparation for the hot weather, along with a large distribution of water purification tablets.

But the power situation has always been a problem in a country where, before the war, power stations had been generating far below demand levels. With the exception of Baghdad, the rest of the country had an alternating three-hours-on, three-hours-off supply pattern.

After the 2003 US-led war, power supplies dropped below pre-war levels and have only just recovered. Aid agencies, including the UN, have expressed the need to ensure a minimum supply of electricity and water, particularly in the south of the country.

"Blackouts are expected to last for longer periods in the summertime. Poor electricity supply cripples the water supply system, impacting heavily on the health situation of an estimated 4.5 million civilians in the four southern governorates [Basra, Najaf, Muthanna and Missan]. The shortage of water will become even more acute in the coming weeks as temperatures are already exceeding 50 degrees Celsius," a recent report from the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) said.

The shortage has also raised tempers with local people recently demonstrating in front of the offices of Basra governorate, calling on the authorities to improve the situation.

According to Maysam Husayn Wasfi, the technical director of the Southern General Company for Electricity Distribution (SGCED), Basra had returned to pre-war production levels following a government order to link all of the country's power plants together.

"For a few months, we were able to protect our electricity lines. The main power plants were working normally and were satisfying the power demands because they were linked with the other three southern governorates," Wasfi said.

Wasfi added that the Electricity Ministry in Baghdad had intended to generate about 6,000 megawatts (MW) by mid-June, to meet the country's need for a continuous power supply, instead of the current 4,000 MW. But the kidnapping of foreigners led to all the power programmes operated by non-Iraqis being halted as foreign workers left the country.

"The security situation is still our main obstacle," he said. "Sabotage continues. In al-Faw province, a sector of Basra governorate, 2 km of power lines were cut from the network and stolen last Thursday."

Residents in Basra are suffering more than Iraqis in other parts of the country, particularly because the southern region was also neglected during Saddam's time following an abortive uprising against the ousted leader in the early 1990s.

One shop owner told IRIN that an electricity unit that provided enough power to operate a TV, refrigerator and a few fans, cost 3,000 Iraqi dinars a month (about US $2). "To run the shop, I will have to buy a lot of them but I can't afford it," he complained. An internet cafe owner also said that if he worked with just one power generator, he would lose money.

Following a rise in local salaries this year, locals say people rushed out to buy electrical goods such as air conditioners but were unable to make use of them because of the power shortages.

According to an unnamed source at the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), there are approximately 200,000 households in Basra and a small power station would be enough to supply them with power even if they all had air conditioners.

"The three main stations are working now, but the question is how to ensure that there will be enough electricity to provide them with power," the source said, adding that the weakness lies in the distribution system. "There's no metering system which could charge and measure the electricity used. It's only when the city has a metering system based on domestic and industrial capacity that we can learn how much shops, houses and factories need the year round," the source added.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004