US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT1829

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001829 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/I, NEA/ARP 
TEL AVIV FOR DCM LEBARON 
RIYADH FOR TUELLER 
TUNIS FOR NATALIE BROWN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2014 
TAGS: ENRG, PGOV, PREL, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: (C) SECRETARY'S ORAL MESSAGE ON ELECTRICITY FOR 
IRAQ DELIVERED TO FM 
 
REF: A. STATE 121610 
 
     B. KUWAIT 1303 
 
Classified By: CDA FRANK URBANCIC; REASON 1.4 (B, D). 
 
1.  (C) Charge delivered ref A oral message from the 
Secretary to Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah 
 
SIPDIS 
al-Salem al-Sabah June 7, after MFA advised that Prime 
Minister Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmed would not be available (other 
topics septels).  The Minister listened attentively and 
promised to relay the message, but his first reaction was "we 
have had blackouts (of our own)."  He recalled that the 
Energy Minister had briefed the Cabinet just the previous day 
that Kuwaiti electricity consumption had hit a high of 7.3 
MW; total capacity was 9 MW, but this was not considered 
excess. 
 
2.  (C) Charge reminded Dr. Mohammed that there is a Kuwaiti 
project to build power lines to carry Kuwaiti power into Iraq 
in the belief that Kuwait does have some excess capacity, and 
that for the longer term, there is a proposal by JHS to build 
a plant on the Kuwaiti side of the border to supply power to 
both countries.  That latter project has apparently been 
refused by the GOK, according to information from the 
Undersecretary of Electricity (ref A).  The Minister replied 
that it has not been refused; a Free Trade Zone envisaged at 
Abdali on the Kuwait-Iraq border will require electricity, 
and the plan includes a private-sector plant, part of whose 
output could go to Iraq (in a separate conversation June 8, 
however, the Kuwaiti JHS partner confirmed to Charge that the 
project is now back on track).  According to Dr. Mohammed, 
the Minister of Trade is very excited about this. 
 
3.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
URBANCIC