Iraq parliament approves a new electricity min (Reuters)

[Stillw8n]

Iraq parliament approves a new electricity min (Reuters)

10 October 2011BAGHDAD - Iraq’s parliament approved a new electricity minister on Monday, two months after the former minister stepped down over contract irregularities in the latest scandal to hit the troubled sector.

Electricity shortages are one of the biggest gripes among Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and the ministry has been a source of political squabbling among the Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish blocs who make up Iraq’s power-sharing government.

The new minister, Karim Aftan, 60, was an independent candidate of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya party, rivals of the Shi’ite ruling coalition, lawmaker Zuhair al-Araji said.

The former minister, Raad Shallal, resigned from his post in early August at the request of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after irregularities worth $1.7 billion were discovered in power deals with two foreign firms.

His predecessor was also forced out in 2010 summer after protests over chronic power shortages.

Electricity supplies collapsed into chaos after the invasion when power plants were looted or went without maintenance.

Iraq’s national grid supplies only a few hours of power a day, forcing Iraqis to rely on private or neighborhood generators.

Iraq’s electricity supply this summer was 8,300 megawatts enough to provide eight hours of power a day, compared with peak demand of 15,000 MW during summer days, said Raad al-Haris, senior deputy minister of electricity said in September.


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