UPDATE: Power cuts in Basra over unpaid bills
Turkish company shuts down floating power stations in a second attempt to recoup $85 million in debts.
UPDATE: The power barges resumed operation Wednesday “because the Electricity Ministry made promises to pay off the debts,” according to Alaa al-Mousawi, the spokesperson for the Basra Electricity Production Department. Current power supply in Basra is 22 to 24 hours per day, he said, though repairs to the Najibiya power station will take another 48 hours.
BASRA - For the second time in two months, residents of Iraq's oil capital are suffering severe power outages because the government cannot pay its bills.
Turkey's Karkey Company, a subsidiary of Karadeniz Holdings, shut down three floating power stations Tuesday, which had been contributing about 370 megawatts to Basra's electrical grid - more than 10 percent of the province's supply - according to Electricity Ministry Spokesman Musab al-Mudariss. The company is owed $85 million, he said.
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