Flipping on the Switch for Najaf Electricity by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards Marine Corps News January 24, 2005 FORWARD OPERATING BASE HOTEL, Iraq - The power supply of Iraq isn't enough for the people, in fact it's even less than it was in 1991 with Saddam Hussein in power. Not surprising, however, after several wars and a tyrant who cared nothing for the upkeep of the electrical infrastructure, the current status is a few sparks short. At the present, the electrical system in Iraq produces 4,000 megawatts of electricity but the demand all over the country is 7,500. So, that leaves the country with a light source, other than the sun, that's around only half the time. They get three hours of power on then three off. But it is improving; just a week ago it was two on then four off. In 1991 under Saddam, the country only needed 5,000 megawatts. This 50 percent jump in energy demand over nearly 14 years is attributed to normal growth, according to Navy Lt. Chris Martino, an electrical engineer augmented to the Project Contracting Office, Multinational Force Iraq. The actual cause of the lack of power is from several different reasons, Martino said. As a result of Saddam's lack of infrastructure upkeep during his time in power, today's inoperable generating stations, bad electrical lines and the use of inefficient fuel such as diesel and crude oil instead of natural gas are just a few reasons why the efficiency is below its requirement. The countries surrounding Iraq also don't want to contribute energy because of Iraq's four national power outages in the last three months -- outages that would threaten to also overload their system if connected. Congress allocated $4.3 billion for the refitting of the electrical infrastructure. So, PCO has picked four of the trouble areas where the power isn't provided as it should be: Fallujah, Sadr City, Samarah and An Najaf. All but Najaf -- which is to be given $30 million for its electrical system -- have a plan formulated and ready to be put into action. But even with the billions given for Iraqi power, it might not be enough to get everything running perfectly. The United Nations estimated during a survey last year that it would take at least $18 billion to put the Iraqis on their feet. Nonetheless, PCO held their first meeting with engineers from the Najaf Electricity Distribution Office Jan. 16. The goal was to find out what projects where most important to distribute the funds toward to empower the city. "We're trying to work with our limited resources to determine the projects that need to be constructed in this area," Martino said. "The idea was to come out of the meeting with a prioritized list of what needs to be done." During the meeting, they decided their priorities were the lines and transformers in the 25 neighborhoods of Najaf, the city's substations, the hundreds of kilometers of wire with towers, maintenance buildings, storage areas and several other less important issues. "We are trying to rebuild and jumpstart the infrastructure to support itself so it can make profit and grow by itself," Martino said. PCO will now contract work out with the lowest technically qualified bidder, and will hire from the local population to improve job opportunities in the area. PCO will also have the responsibility of supervising the different projects, ensuring that the funds are spent correctly. "We'll put out a scope of work and say this is what we want built," Martino said about how the contracts get accepted. "Then a bunch of companies will come back and say this is how much it will cost you to build this." After the meeting was over, they were anxious to get working on lighting up the town. "What I want to see is the work finished as soon as possible," said Mustafa Almuthfer, an electrical engineer with the Najaf Electrical Distribution Office. "I think cooperation between my office and PCO will of course improve the quality of life here." They're on their way to giving power back to the people of Najaf and Martino is optimistic. "This is going to be great. It's going to bring a lot of power to a bunch of neighborhoods that didn't have it before," Martino said. But it won't be at the speed of light. It's still going to take some time to totally revamp the system. "The Iraqis don't understand. They expect us to flip a switch and everything work," said Mohammed Ismil, an electrical engineer with PCO. "But there were years of neglect in these areas and it will take time to fix."

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