Re-engineering Iraq [power production shortage]

This paper examines the reasons why, after three years of continuous support from the US government to reconstruct the electrical infrastructure in war-torn Iraq, there is still a shortage of about 4000 MW in the country´s power production. The paper cites a variety of reasons that include the poor match between generating technologies and the kinds of fuels available in Iraq, the well-armed insurgency that has made destroying electrical infrastructure a centerpiece of its bid to destroy the country´s fledgling democracy and the erosion of operational and, particularly, maintenance skills among workers at the country´s Ministry of Electricity. With US funds available for new electrical projects dwindling into the hundreds of millions of dollars, the obstacles to a robust electricity supply system for all Iraqis are looming large.