Baghdad Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi decided to take several important decisions to address the current electricity crisis.
A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office said that Al-Kadhimi, as a result of what the electric power system was exposed to during the past hours and to ensure a quick treatment, and after following it personally with the executive officials of the Ministry of Electricity and other ministries, decided to form a crisis cell to address the shortage of electricity supply hours in Baghdad and the provinces headed by the Prime Minister. The membership of the Ministries of Electricity, Oil, Finance, Interior, the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, the Director of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Head of the National Security Agency, and the Secretary of the Supreme Commission for Coordination between the Governorates.
The cell performs the following tasks:
1. Take the immediate measures necessary to increase the hours of providing electrical energy in Baghdad and the governorates to meet the needs of the Iraqi society and economy.
2. Emergency provision of all forms of financial, technical, logistical and security support to the Ministry of Electricity.
3. Involvement of local governments in the areas of production and distribution.
4. Removal of abuses on the electric power system and confiscation of used tools and equipment.
5. Paying the violators the fees for cutting the power supply and the costs resulting there from, and initiating criminal complaints against them.
6. Accelerating practical procedures to support and encourage the use of renewable energies in various fields and localize its industry, as well as regulating the entry of the private sector to invest in the energy field in a way that raises the level of energy supply while ensuring efficiency and economic feasibility.
Al-Kadhimi decided that the cell would be in a permanent session during the months of July and August, and in continuous meetings, except for these two months, and it takes its decisions by a majority.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency