Iraq
BASRAH – Residents gathered at the recently-refurbished Al Quibla market here, Jan. 17, to celebrate the completion of 14 U.S. government-funded projects designed to deliver reliable electricity to 15 districts throughout this province.
That tremendous effort came in the form of 18,000 homes here receiving reliable power at a cost of $5.4 million provided by the local Provincial Reconstruction Team and the 17th Fires Brigade Commanders’ Emergency Response Program.
John Naland, leader of the PRT, was on hand during the ceremony to address the improving conditions of the communities throughout the province.
"Today we celebrate the completion of 14 U.S. government projects that will provide over 137,000 Basrah citizens with reliable power and will drastically reduce the amount of power interruptions the city has experienced," said Naland. "These projects are an example of a partnered effort to meet and address the needs of the people of Basrah by the provincial leaders of Basrah and the PRT.”
Decades of neglect to the electrical infrastructure in the city has caused the electrical blackouts that frustrate the citizens.
"The end state of the project is a reduction of unscheduled power blackouts in each of the areas," said Capt. Alex L. Young, 7th Engineer Battalion, an engineer who is currently a project purchasing officer with the PRT attached to the 17th Fires Brigade. "A serious amount of poles, transformers and wire were required to establish a new, more efficient electrical distribution system for these areas."
The process began with an intense evaluation by the Electrical Distribution Department that pinpointed the areas that needed upgrading to their current system or needed to have a network established for the first time. Two areas identified are now receiving power for the first time.
Young said that part of the problem with the instability of the network in certain neighborhoods was due to individuals using illegal connections causing local systems to overload and fail.
"One of the problems in the areas was that people were trying to get more power out of the transformers that they could handle," said Young. "These projects create local electrical systems that are capable of distributing higher amounts of electricity with more reliability. They are not physically increasing the amount of electricity in the area, but ensuring that the systems can handle the increasing amounts.”
The PRT recognized the need for a more efficient system of long-term preventative maintenance and has collaborated with the Ministry of Electricity in developing an operations and maintenance training program.
"Our aim is to jump-start their process of effectively maintaining these networks," Young said. "In the past, they would use these transformers until they were no-longer able to operate, an inefficient and costly practice that we hope to eradicate with proper training and mentorship.”
With plans for the development of maintenance centers in the districts of Hayyaniyah, Bradia and Hakemeyn, the Government of Iraq continues to demonstrate its commitment to rebuilding the country's infrastructure and economy through on-going projects like this from the Ministry of Electricity.
January 22, 2010: Written by Spc. Maurice Galloway, 17th Fires Brigade
Distributed by www.SupportOurTroops.org
