{"id":36860,"date":"2015-03-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brookings.alley.test\/research\/turn-a-light-on-electricity-sector-reform-in-iraq\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T12:42:19","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T12:42:19","slug":"turn-a-light-on-electricity-sector-reform-in-iraq","status":"publish","type":"research","link":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/research\/turn-a-light-on-electricity-sector-reform-in-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn a Light On: Electricity Sector Reform in Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The need to confront and drive back the forces of the Islamic State (IS) has pushed long-term reform efforts in Iraq far down the list of priorities. Yet pressing economic reforms \u2013 such as restructuring and rebuilding the country\u2019s energy sector \u2013 increasingly seem a strategic necessity, as oil prices have fallen far below government projections. How can politicians be persuaded to invest in Iraq\u2019s long-term future at a time of imminent security threats? How can the efforts to reform the Iraqi electricity network be harnessed to reestablish government authority in newly retaken areas?<br \/>\nLuay Al-Khatteeb and Harry Istepanian address these questions through analysis of past attempts at electricity sector reform. They argue that even before IS advances plunged Iraq into a deep political and security crisis, divisions within the Iraqi parliament and various government agencies had stymied efforts at reform. Still, they note that improving the provision of electricity is a clear opportunity to improve basic services to its citizens, boosting government legitimacy and acceptance in areas under its control, especially as it seeks to retake territory from IS.<br \/>\nKhatteeb and Istepanian hold that a comprehensive strategy is needed, one that incorporates an expanded role for the private sector, rationalized electricity tariffs, and a host of technical fixes to improve efficiency. Ultimately, they contend, much will depend on whether the government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi views the IS threat as an excuse for inaction or an impetus for change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":464474,"template":"","class_list":["post-36860","research","type-research","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research\/36860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/research"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}