CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – Members of the 17th Fires Brigade, Basrah Provincial Reconstruction Team and influential members of the Basrah, Iraq, community gathered at the recently refurbished Al Quibla market Jan. 17, to celebrate the completion of 14 U.S.-funded projects designed to deliver reliable electricity to nearly 15 districts throughout Basrah.
“These projects will significantly improve the quality of life for the people in Basrah,” said Zuhair Shubar, a technical assistant to the governor for administrative affairs. “The Basrah area has struggled with the inconsistency of reliable power in the homes of the Basrawi people, and now thanks to tremendous efforts on both sides, that problem is solved.”
That tremendous effort came in the form of 18,000 homes throughout Basrah receiving reliable power at a cost of $5.4 million. The funds were provided by the PRT through the 17th Fires Brigade’s Commander’s Emergency Relief Program.
John Naland, leader of the PRT, was on-hand during the ceremony to address the improving conditions of the communities throughout Basrah 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,” Naland added.
Decades of neglect of the electrical infrastructure in the city has led to blackouts that frustrate the citizens of Basrah.
“The end-state of the project is a reduction of unscheduled power blackouts in each of the areas,” said Capt. Alex L. Young, an engineer with 7th Engineer Battalion and project purchasing officer with the PRT. “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. They pinpointed the areas that needed upgrading to their current system or needed to have a network established for the first time. Two areas are now receiving power for the first time.
Young said part of the problem 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 than 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,” Young added.
The PRT also recognized the need for a more efficient system of long-term preventative maintenance and has collaborated with the Ministry of Electricity to develop 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.
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – Members of the 17th Fires Brigade, Basrah Provincial Reconstruction Team and influential members of the Basrah, Iraq, community gathered at the recently refurbished Al Quibla market Jan. 17, to celebrate the completion of 14 U.S.-funded projects designed to deliver reliable electricity to nearly 15 districts throughout Basrah.