Electricity Ministry announces Beiji power plant breaks down

BAGHDAD/IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Electricity Ministry on Thursday said Beiji plant broke down, decreasing the power grid supply for Iraqis suffering from already long-hours disruptions. “Low levels of Tigris river levels decreased the supply water for Beiji plant turbine and halt its operation,” Aziz Sultan, spokesman for Electricity Ministry, told IraqiNews.com. “The halt brought about daily 700-1000 mega watts loss and lowered electricity supply for people,” he noted. The ministry spokesman explained the plant breakdown “was not technical and would be fixed once the river water used for cooling turbines comes to its normal levels”. Iraq’s power grid was bombed, looted and sabotaged during and after the US-led invasion in 2003. In the wake of long promises that the supply of electricity will be properly restored, residents of Baghdad and many cities have increasingly relied on privately run generators to power their homes. AM(S) 1