Contract for electricity signed in Iraq

MOSUL, Iraq -- - The first commercial contract in Iraq since the fall of the previous regime, to provide electricity to the country, has been signed in Baghdad between Karadeniz Energy Group, the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and Iraqi energy commission.

The deal specifies that the Karadeniz Energy Group, a Turkish company, will supply electricity to Iraq for 24 months at $ 3 million a month for 50 megawatts of power, up to $4.5 million a month for 75 megawatts of power.

The purchase adds extra power critical to the country while its electrical infrastructure is being repaired. Electrical power substations were a key target of sabotage during the war. Additionally, looting after the war left many structures in disrepair.

“Even before the war the system was not able to produce enough electricity to meet demand,” said Stephen Browning, deputy director for infrastructure, CPA.

According to Maj. Roosevelt Samuel, 101st Airborne Division assistant division engineer, Iraq is operating at a greater-than 35-percent electricity deficit. Parts of the country experience power outages of up to 12-hours a day. The purchase of the extra wattage brings the country closer to the goal of 252 megawatts a day, which will allow predictable three-hours on, three- hours off schedule for electricity throughout Iraq.

“There is a greater than 35 percent energy deficit throughout Iraq,” Samuel said. “This long-standing deficit is largely due to the condition of the existing electrical infrastructure, and also partly due to looting that occurred after the war.”

The majority of the damage affected the power plants that distribute power throughout the country, according to Samuel. The purchase of the extra 50 megawatts a day from Turkey augments and supplements the existing production of power until those “crippling” structures can be repaired.

With the new contract the CPA will have the country operating at pre-war levels by the end of September and hopes to exceed pre-war levels by next summer, Browning said.

“We’re working very hard for the people of Iraq,” he said. “But we are not generating enough to meet demand, which is why we’re looking to import.”

It has not been easy, we have more negotiations ahead with other companies,” said Brig. Gen. Frank Helmick, assistant division commander, operations, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Besides the international deal with Turkey, the CPA and Iraqi energy commission are looking to their neighbors to the south, east and west to further augment their output. Talks are also being held with electricity companies in Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, Browning said.

“Power is one of the top two problems of Iraq, it impacts everything we do,” Helmick said.

The goal of the 101st is to improve the quality of life for everybody in Iraq. Electricity is only one of the things that need to be repaired or improved.

“The 101st will be relentless,” Helmick said. “We’re up to the task, we will not rest.”