Baghdad to get 11 hours of power by end summer: US general

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Electricity supplies in the Iraqi capital should reach 11 hours a day, almost double the current amount, by the end of this summer, a US military official involved in reconstruction said.

"We think we can get Baghdad to about 11 hours of reliable power a day by the end of summer," said Major General William McCoy of the Army Corps of Engineers, involved in Iraq's reconstruction.

According to him, Baghdad currently receives six to eight hours of power a day, though residents of some neighborhoods insist the amount is much less.

The shortage of electricity supplies, especially in the blistering heat of Iraq's summer, has remained a major complaint of Baghdad residents since the April 2003 fall of the old regime.

During the time of Saddam Hussein, Baghdad had between 18 and 24 hours of reliable power a day, admitted McCoy, adding this came at the expense of the rest of the country which only had a few hours a day.

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