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A Summer of Power Failures in Syria

[New York Times] Hugh Naylor - Syria has had a summer of power failures and electricity shortages. In Damascus, which has had daily blackouts lasting as long as five hours, the roar of gas generators is drowning out the city's notoriously loud traffic. In some suburbs, the lights are on for only six hours a day. Unconfirmed reports say Syria, a regional supplier of electricity, has had to suspend exports to Lebanon and northern Iraq several times this summer to conserve energy. "These power interruptions are costing the country dearly," said Issam Zaim, a former minister of industry. "This is affecting our ability to pump water around the country, which not only affects human consumption, but industry, agriculture, just about everything." Syrian officials say now that foreign sanctions are affecting power generation. Construction contracts for two large power plants, needed to keep pace with rising energy demand, have gone up for bid on the international market five times over the last two years with no takers. Of the companies capable of building them, Prime Minister Otari accused the American company General Electric of declining to bid on the job and then persuading Japanese-owned Mitsubishi not to bid, either. Alstom, a French company, was "pressured by Jacques Chirac (the former president of France) not to work in Syria," Otari said. Energy businesses like Conoco Phillips and Marathon Oil have pulled out over the past three years.
2007-08-15 01:00:00
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