Billions spent on reconstruction can't keep Iraq's lights on

And both say that despite the billions set aside by the United States for reconstruction, the power supply situation has worsened since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

"Before the fall of the regime, power was three hours on, three hours off," said Mutlaq, an auto parts dealer in the southern city of Basra. "Now it comes on for a total of just eight hours (a day) and maybe less."

For many Iraqis, chronic power problems have become a litmus test of American promises of a better life without Saddam.

Iraqis often ask why a nation that can send an army to fight a war half a world away cannot guarantee that the lights work.

"I should only complain to God, but let me just say that sometimes we don't have electricity for 72 hours," said al-Mufti, a father of five in the northern city of Mosul, 560 miles north of Basra. "Often, we have one hour of electricity the entire day."

Baghdad, a city of nearly 7 million people, is a city starved for energy. Most streets are unlit at night, when the din of power generators fills the air. Wires connecting neighborhood generators to private homes hang over narrow alleys.

U.S. officials have acknowledged that the failure to provide power has dogged the American mission in Iraq since the beginning.

In Senate testimony, Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, blamed insurgent attacks and higher demand. He acknowledged that the electricity situation was worse now than under Saddam.

"Often, those commenting on Iraq reconstruction begin by stating that electrical capacity is lower than prewar levels," Bowen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "They are correct."

Of 425 electricity-related projects, Bowen said, only 300 will be completed before $18.6 billion in reconstruction funding runs out.

Mutlaq said: "Everyone dreamed of a better life after Saddam went. We wanted more electricity and a generally higher standard of living. We are still shocked that none of our dreams came true. Nothing happened - and some people even think life under Saddam was better."

The problem of electricity becomes more unbearable in summer, when temperatures soar to 120 for months. That forces many residents to sleep on their rooftops.

With electricity erratic at best, clean drinking water also has become rare. Even if the water is purified at treatment plants, lack of power often means water cannot be pumped to apartment dwellers.

Renowned for their resilience, most Iraqis cope by drawing power from neighborhood generators run and maintained by businessmen for a fee. But a recent increase in fuel prices means electricity is more expensive.

Iraqis pay an average of about $2 every three months for electricity because the government subsidizes the cost and power outages are frequent. Private power, however, can cost an average of $20 per month - a burden in a country where $200 a month is a common salary.

Insurgent attacks and the ever-present danger of kidnapping mean that up to 22 percent of all reconstruction project funds, including those for electricity, goes to security, according to General Accounting Office figures.