Iraq’s lingering power crisis costing $40 billion a year

It will take longer than the government hopes to fix the country’s electricity problem

If the Iraqi government’s provision of basic energy to its people were to be a factor in April’s parliamentary election, you wouldn’t blame voters for just sitting at home in the dark. Generation capacity is rising and things are better than they were. But even in Baghdad and Tikrit, the two towns given preferential access to electricity under Saddam Hussein, supply is poor and brownouts common. Most of Iraq still doesn’t have adequate connection to the dilapidated grid. Outside Kurdistan, only Iraqis rich enough to afford a private diesel-fired generator can guarantee a full day’s supply. On top of the violence and terrorism still hurting parts of the country, the lack of electricity provis