Project For Improvements Scheduled
Dhi Qar Region, Iraq
The availability of electric power brings prosperity to any group of people, with electricity comes light, heat, the ability to cook, and to store food. The lack of electric power in areas of Iraq has meant that some areas have remained stunted, without infrastructure or means to grow.
Many families wind up using oil lanterns during the winter months to fight the darkness. Electric torches or flashlights are a must for many Iraqi households. Still other families make makeshift arrangements for power with generators that are used by local businesses, buying or trading things of value for electric power a few hours a day.
Well for some Iraqi families and communities, there is perhaps a light at the end of a long tunnel of waiting. “We aim to improve the lives of Iraqi People by helping provide power,” said Rebecca Wingfield. Wingfield is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project engineer for the Adder Area Office. “Some of these conditions without power saddens and hurts our hearts, so we are here ready to help,” said Wingfield.
Recently a large contract worth one million five hundred forty thousand dollars was awarded to install, build, test, supply and commission a double thirty-three kilovolt electrical feeder line. This new feeder line will come off the Al Nasiriyah power line.
This new project will connect the Al Shamiyah and Nasiriyah substations, and provide a means to rehabilitate and grow the electric system throughout the area. The project is funded by the Economic Support funds through the Provincial Reconstruction Teams, acting from the U.S. State Department.