I am writing this looking at a smart colour graph that has been sent to the BBC bureau in Baghdad by the US Department of State. It is part of what they call the Weekly Essential Indicators report. The graph shows the demand for electricity across the country compared with the supply. Over the past year, supply has never even got near meeting the demand. Energy gap Seventy per cent was the very best, but that was exceptional and coincided with the autumn, when the weather is warm and pleasant here and people use their air conditioners and fans less than they do in the searing heat of the summer. And, they have not yet switched on their heaters for the cold desert nights of winter. On the graph, the supply line mostly hovers around 55% and dips below 50 several times. That is for the whole country and supply to Baghdad is pitiful. Hours and hours go by without mains electricity, then it suddenly will be available for a short time and go dead again. If they can afford to, Iraqis buy generators and the fuel for them. Home […]