The lights are on again in homes in many parts of Ninawa province, including some Mosul neighbourhoods , after the restoration of power to these areas, Iraqi officials tell Diyaruna.

Following the ouster of the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), many liberated parts of Ninawa province are now back on the national grid, they said.

The Iraqi government has issued directives to all public utility departments to restore electricity, water and sewage services in these areas .

Health and education services also are set to resume, with the restoration of local government, which will pave the way for the return of displaced residents and support those who remained in their homes during the conflict.

Rehabilitating power plants

The Ministry of Electricity started providing power to liberated neighbourhoods in early December after the Mosul Dam-Mosul power line became operational, ministry spokesman Musab al-Mudaris told Diyaruna.

"The line had been out of service after being targeted by ISIL, but engineering and technical staff at the General Directorate of Electricity in the northern part of the province managed to restore it and bring it back to operation," he said.

The electricity supplied to liberated areas started at 100 megawatts, he said, with the possibility of going up to 800 megawatts, based on the production capacity of the Mosul Dam power plant.

Power also is being supplied to Ninawa from other plants that managed to stay intact during the ongoing military operation, such as Ninawa Power Plant in al-Qayyarah.

Engineering and technical staff managed to bring the plant back online after conducting maintenance in December, plant director Mansour Hassan Mohammed told Diyaruna.

Two of the plant's production units, each with a production capacity of 125 megawatts, are now operational, he said.

"The fuel storage and replenishing system was damaged at varying degrees," he said, noting that these have since been fully rehabilitated using local expertise and locally sourced material.

After al-Qayyarah plant became operational, it started supplying electricity to several subsidiary plants in al-Mishraq, al-Qayyarah and al-Shirqat, Mohammed said.

"Power will reach more areas if the plant is supplied with additional quantities of fuel from the nearby refinery in al-Qayyarah," he added.

Electricity for IDP camps

Ninawa's local government has been keen to provide electricity, even on a temporary basis, to displacement camps near Mosul, where more than 150,000 people have sought shelter.

The local government recently supplied Jadaa camp with a 250 megawatt capacity generator to help meet the needs of the residents, Ninawa provincial council member Khalaf al-Hudaidi told Diyaruna.

"The generator will supply 1,000 tents in the camp with power and meet most of their occupants' electricity needs, including lighting as well as operating a number of small electrical appliances," he said.

Supplying the camp with electricity and heating fuel will help displaced families handle the harsh conditions they face, until they are able to return to their neighbourhoods when these have been liberated and secured by Iraqi forces, he said.