Iraq's Iskandariyah power plant keeps on

ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq, April 15 (UPI) -- Iraq's Iskandariyah power plant runs on raw crude and at less than half capacity, but the country's demand "is so great" there's no time for maintenance.

"There are no major deficiencies with the plant, but so many small ones that it just saps the power output," Capt. David Stewart said. "The demand for electricity in Iraq is so great right now that they really can't shut the plant down for extensive maintenance."

Electricity production has increased since last year, according to the U.S. State Department's Iraq Weekly Status Report, though an increase in demand has led to an overall decrease in demand met -- to about 60 percent.

The plant is located inside the Multi-National Force-Iraq's Forward Operating Base Iskan, south of Baghdad. Raw crude is hauled to it by truck, though Stewart said a train may begin deliveries again. A pipeline is not operating.

Stewart, in an MNF-I release, said the 400 to 600 megawatts of electricity is only 40 percent of its capacity. Built by South Korea in the 1980s, it was hit by coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War but was rebuilt in 2001.

Three steam turbines are in operation while a fourth is being repaired following a fire last year. Each turbine's control room is being renovated.

"In a plant like this, there's not all that much that can actually be controlled from the control room," Stewart said. "It'll let you know if something's wrong, but to fix it you've got to get in there with a wrench."

A small gasoline-fed plant is being built next to the power plant that will be able to add capacity and fill in for the older turbines during repairs.