Lights out in Baghdad as power remains erratic (down @ 6 hours/day)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LON853564.htm

Lights out in Baghdad as power remains erratic


BAGHDAD, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Baghdad is getting only around six hours of electricity a day, down from 11 in October, and attacks on Iraqis working on U.S.-backed reconstruction projects are at a record, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

December was the worst month for such attacks, said Brigadier General William McCoy, head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Six Iraqi contractors were killed, five wounded and two kidnapped in 32 assaults across the country.

"It's been a pretty bad month," McCoy said.

Haphazard electricity supply is one of the main gripes of Baghdad's six million inhabitants. It frequently cuts out, making it difficult for people to work and leaving them cold in winter and hot in summer.