British power firms send experts to Iraq

Two UK power companies are today sending engineers to Iraq to advise the British Army on restoring power to the southern city of Basra.

Powergen, the utility company, is sending two engineers to help repair power stations while a similar team is to be sent by National Grid to advise on repairs to the electricity supply network. Both companies insisted they had been responding to a request from the Army and were not seeking commercial opportunities in the Middle East.

Powergen, the electricity producer and supplier owned by Germany's E.ON, said its engineers would identify the emergency repairs that need to be made to the control centre serving Basra, the Iraqi city that is under British military control.

The two men are Dave Johnson, engineering manager at Ratcliffe power station, and Bob Nicholls, head of electricity engineering at its research and development division.

"They will be there for about a week working with the Royal Engineers trying to get the power back on," a spokeswoman said. "There are no commercial contracts involved but we are committed to helping the people out there."

National Grid has also been asked by the Government to send engineers to advise on repairs to Iraq's electricity network.

"We are sending a small team of people, two or three, out there to assess the condition of the infrastructure," a spokesman said. "This is purely in an advisory capacity – we are not seeking any business development opportunity."

Air Marshall Brian Burridge, the commander of UK armed forces in the Gulf, said the power system was in a "very dilapidated state" and might cost £16bn to restore it "to something that we recognise".

There are three oil-fired power stations and two diesel standby units at Basra, some of which have been so badly damaged that they no longer work, he said.

British troops are working to restore order in Basra which was hit by a wave of looting after Saddam Hussein's government fell as well as making sure water and power supplies to the city return to normal.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, about 85 to 90 per cent of Iraq's grid and 20 power stations were damaged during the Gulf War in 1991, causing frequent black-outs.

Baghdad has been hit by severe power cuts in the last few days, forcing hospitals to close.