PURC Addresses Electricity Sector Performance in Iraq
November 17, 2011
Gainesville, Florida USA
With the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, efforts to improve infrastructure have been stepped up. As part of its International Visitor Leadership Program, the U.S. State Department sponsored a five-member delegation from the Iraq Energy Ministry for a meeting at the University of Florida, organized by PURC. The delegation explored how to address the numerous challenges facing their electricity system including ways to alleviate electricity capacity shortages and how governance and incentives could improve sector performance in different regions of their country.
The delegation met with PURC Director Dr. Mark Jamison; PURC Director of Energy Studies Ted Kury; PURC Assistant Director Araceli Castaneda; PURC Director of Water Studies Dr. Sandy Berg; PURC Policy Analyst Dr. Lynne Holt; PURC Post-doc in Energy Studies Dr. Colin Knapp; and Florida Energy System Consortium Director Dr. Tim Anderson. PURC’s reputation for outstanding international training programs was one reason the University of Florida was selected to assist with this visit.
The delegation also toured Gainesville Regional Utilities’s South Energy Center as part of their two-week visit to the United States. The Iraqi team returned with a better understanding of U.S. regulatory procedures and of global developments in electricity.
