ELECTRICITY
USAID's goals include the emergency
repair or rehabilitation of power generation facilities and electrical
grids. Teams of engineers from the Ministry of Electricity, USAID
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working since May of 2003
to restore the capacity of Iraq's power system.
Accomplishments to Date
- By October, 2003, rehabilitated electric
power capacity to produce peak capacity greater than the pre-war level
of 4,400 MW. Production reached 5,365 MW on August 18, 2004.
- Since achieving record power production
in Summer '04, the Ministry of Electricity - with assistance from USAID
- as begun the standard Fall maintenance process which will necessarily
reduce the amount of power available for consumption.USAID worked with
the MOE to conduct last Fall's maintenance program.
- Repairing thermal units, replacing turbines,
rehabilitating the power distribution network, and installing and restoring
generators.
- USAID has added 535 MW of capacity through
maintenance and rehabilitation work, and also repaired a 400 KV transmission
line.
- USAID and the Ministry of Electricity
are working with partners to add a total of more than 1,281 MW to the national
grid by December 2005 through maintenance, rehabilitation, and new generation
projects.
- USAID completed a project to convert
two units that produce 80 MW each to operate on crude/heavy fuel oil instead
of diesel which is in short supply.
- Most recently, USAID has initiated a project to rehabilitate 13 existing substations and construct 24 new substations in Baghdad.These 37 substations will improve the distribution and reliability of electricity for more than two million Baghdad residents.
Highlights this week
Iraq's power generating capability has suffered from the lack of an effective operation and maintenance (O&M) program over many years. Power plants require specific scheduled maintenance, without which, power generating capacity is compromised. This is the current situation at most power generating facilities in Iraq. O&M training for power plant personnel has been limited in the past and non productive.
USAID is administering nearly $3 billion in infrastructure improvement projects throughout Iraq to ensure that homes and businesses are receiving services essential for the resumption of everyday life.Parallel to these projects, training and institutional strengthening activities are required to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of new and refurbished facilities.
USAID's Power Plant Maintenance program was designed to provide for training, facility assessments, coaching, mentoring, maintenance and plant outage support, and furnish test equipment, special tools, permanent plant equipment, materials, and parts.The goal of O&M training is to establish a tradition of best operational practices and modern management techniques at Iraq's power plants.Power plant O&M training covers all aspects of power plant activities, including operations, administration, planning, maintenance, and warehousing. completion of this program in May, the overall operating standards, safety standards, and the reliability of the plant output will be increased.Training is being provided for 250 staff from the Ministry of Electricity and is conducted outside of Iraq.
WATER AND SANITATION
USAID's goal is to improve the efficiency and reliability of existing water and wastewater treatment facilities, especially those in the south where water quantity and quality are particularly low. An anticipated 11.8 million Iraqis will benefit from USAID's $600 million in water and sanitation projects.
Accomplishments to Date
- Nationwide: Repaired various
sewage lift stations and water treatment units.
- Baghdad: Expanding one water
treatment plant and constructing another to increase capacity by approximately
70 million gallons per day; rehabilitating sewage treatment plants.
- A major wastewater treatment plant in Baghdad began operating in June of 2004; this is the first major sewage plant in the country to operate in over 12 years.
- The sewage treatment system in Baghdad, barely functioning for years before the conflict, will be restored to almost 100-percent capacity, serving 80 percent of Baghdad's population.
- Standby generators are being installed at 41 Baghdad water facilities.
- South: Rehabilitating parts of
the Sweet Water Canal system, including repairing breaches, cleaning the
main reservoir, and refurbishing 14 water treatment plants around Basrah
serving 1.75 million people.
- South Central: Rehabilitating two water plants and four sewage plants.
- North: Rehabilitating two water plants and one sewage plant near Mosul and Kirkuk.
- Completed the rehabilitation of a sewage plant in Babil Governorate.
- Sewage plants in An Najaf, Al Qadisiyah, Karbala, and Babil Governorates will serve 440,000 upon completion.
- Water treatment in Najaf and Babil
will serve residents and visitors at Iraq's holiest shrines.
Highlights this week
Work to restore 14 water treatment facilities in Basrah Governorate was completed on December 14, 2004. These facilities range from conventional treatment plants to pre-manufactured compact units. Final inspection of the facilities was completed on December 14, 2004 and the project is now 100 percent complete. Over the course of the project, there were many components refurbished: 15 clarifiers, 80 compact units, 71 high lift pumps, seven low lift pumps, nine backwash pumps, 50 pressure filters, 34 gravity filters, 19 generators, and five storage tanks. Additionally, the entire 21.50 km pipeline has been excavated, built, tested, and backfilled for the Khor Az Zubayr to Safwan water line.
A USAID project to restore the wastewater collection system in Basrah is now complete. Final testing was conducted last month. This project restored sewage lift stations in Basrah which transfer raw sewage to a main sewage treatment plant in the governorate. The completion of this project will improve the conveyance of wastewater in the area, providing a more sanitary environment in the city of Basrah and reducing risks to public health.
The project was divided into two phases which were implemented concurrently. The first phase repaired the primary sewage pumping stations in the existing Basrah sewage collection system, while the second phase addressed repairs to secondary lift stations. The final inspections were performed on 19 vertical pump lift stations on December 22, 2004. The pumps are all operating and the electrical equipment systems are functioning. The pre-engineered warehouse structures were erected and sheathed by January 10.
Work is continuing on a project to improve the sewage collection system in a populous district of Baghdad; when complete, the rehabilitated system will provide improved service to 1.5 million residents. Overall, this activity is 39 percent finished, and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2005.
Work is 79 percent complete at a wastewater treatment plant in An Najaf Governorate. The project is scheduled to be completed in mid-February 2005. Work on this plant will completely overhaul and restore the facility.
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