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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan’s towns and villages are blighted by the roar and belching fumes of countless private generators installed to help households cope with daily power outages.
Firsat Sofi, Erbil’s new governor, has promised to draft new regulations designed to reduce noise and air pollution.
“Today, in the presence of the Private Generators Council of Erbil, we have decided on the silencing of the noise of private generators in Erbil,” Sofi told a press conference in Erbil on Sunday.
“The deadline for generator owners to adhere to the decision is May 1, 2020,” he added.
In Kurdistan, as in the rest of Iraq, households are hooked up to privately-owned power generators in every neighborhood, which kick in for subscribers every time state power shuts down.
“From May 2, 2020, any generator found unsilenced or failing to take measures to protect the environment of Erbil province, we will directly from that date stop the work of their generators and announce for other people to replace them,” Sofi warned.
He urged the Private Generators Council and generator owners to start taking the necessary steps now.
However, the measures “must not be manipulated as an excuse for the private generators to increase the price of electricity amperes”, he warned.
“The price will not change at all,” the governor added.
“Well done. It is a great decision and I hope a similar one is made in Sulaimani as well,” social media user Yasa Kan posed on Rudaw’s Sorani Facebook page.
“Increase national power instead of silencing the noise of generators. When we have national power, we do not need to resort to private generators and in this case there will be no air pollution or noise of generators,” posted Farhan Khalifani, another Facebook user.
The demand for electricity in the Kurdistan Region spikes during the summer heat and winter chill when people crank up their air conditioners.
The Kurdistan Region suffers from chronic electricity shortages and dilapidated infrastructure.
The electricity grid is fully private, running on nearly 100 percent natural gas.
Successive Iraqi and Kurdish governments have been unable to provide 24-hour electricity to the public since the 2003 war. Blackouts are a daily occurrence across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and have become a serious source of public anger.
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