Iraq Electricity Ministry blames provinces

BAGHDAD, July 30 (UPI) -- Iraq's electricity minister is blaming southern provinces for the Baghdad blackouts, threatening sanctions if they do it again.

Meanwhile, the southern Maysan province, which is not on the ministry's list, said it will build a power plant to meet an electricity shortage.

The governing council of the Najaf province has also taken action against the lagging power problem, saying it will remove its power plants from the national grid in order to meet local demand.

The weekly Baghdad newspaper Al Mada reports Electricity Minister Karim Wahid called out the Diwaniya, Basra, Nasiriya and Babil provinces for consuming too much of the electricity their plants produce, allegedly depriving Baghdad.

The capital has suffered extensive blackouts lately, worse than the usual lull in electricity the country faces routinely.

Wahid said the provinces are not following National Power Control Center orders, which he said may lead to withholding of funds and technical assistance as punishment.

The Voices of Iraq news agency reports Adel Mihoudar, mayor of Maysan, authorized a two unit, 250 megawatt power plant powered by oil in the al-Kahlaa district, south of Amara, the provincial capital.

"Preparations are in full swing to implement the project, which will help solve the shortage of electricity supply in Iraq," Mihoudar said.

In Najaf, Governorate Council Chief Abid al-Hussein al-Musawi said "due to the Electricity Ministry and the (national) government not providing us with our (fair) share of electricity, the civilian (government) administration in Najaf province has decided to sever our gas (driven) electrical power station ... from the national power grid."

He said the power is needed for agriculture as well as visitors to the province's religious sites. It blamed the central government for the electricity shortage.