Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Attacks on national grid plunge Baghdad into darkness
Security
(Azzaman) - Attacks targeting the national grid have plunged most of Baghdad into total darkness, the Ministry of Electricity said. In a statement, the ministry said attacks of sabotage have intensified recently on pylons and transformers as well as power stations. “The ministry is subjected these days to ferocious terrorist attacks,” the statement said.
It said high voltage pylons linking power stations to cities were being blown up and the ministry’s technicians could hardly cope to repair damage. Four pylons linking al-Radhwaniya power plant to densely populated Baghdad neighborhoods were destroyed in one day, the ministry said.
On average, outages may continue for up to 20 hours a day in Baghdad but the latest attacks have reduced national grid supplies to the city to a trickle. Iraq still produces less electricity than before the U.S. invasion of 2003 despite allocations totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
It said high voltage pylons linking power stations to cities were being blown up and the ministry’s technicians could hardly cope to repair damage. Four pylons linking al-Radhwaniya power plant to densely populated Baghdad neighborhoods were destroyed in one day, the ministry said.
On average, outages may continue for up to 20 hours a day in Baghdad but the latest attacks have reduced national grid supplies to the city to a trickle. Iraq still produces less electricity than before the U.S. invasion of 2003 despite allocations totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Labels: al-Radhwaniya power plant, Baghdad, electricity, Ministry of Electricity, national grid
