(C) SECRETARY'S ORAL MESSAGE ON ELECTRICITY FOR

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