The Turkish Dogan Bey power ship sits moored in the southern port of Umm Qasr. The ship provides enough power to run a small Iraqi city. Currently, it feeds into the main Iraqi power grid. Photo by Sgt. Francis Horton

The government of Iraq has been concentrating on providing basic necessities to its people while striving to maintain order and security.

Electricity has been an issue Iraqis are concerned about. In the southern city of Basra and throughout Iraq demonstrations have been held demanding more reliable power.

In response, steps are in place to help ease the power problems.

In the southern port of Umm Qasr, the hub of imports and exports for the country, a large ship sits moored to the docks. It is adorned with Turkish and Iraqi flags painted on the side, and large transformers cover the majority of the deck.

“It’s like an on-land power facility,” said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Frank Bullock, a logistic coordinator with the Joint Interagency Task Force. Reciprocating generators on the deck of the ship use a refined fuel provided by the Iraqi Department of Energy. The electricity is run to the Iraqi power grid. This ship alone has the ability to power Umm Qasr with some left over, he said.

“So far, we have had no security incidents,” said the plant manager and ship captain, Mutlu Cevlik, a Turkish sailor from Istanbul. A five-year contract has been signed with the Iraqi Department of Energy for the ship to provide power, he said. A second ship has also been dispatched from Turkey.

Security cameras and local guards have been hired to help secure the ship, Cevlik said. Around 70 people from Umm Qasr keep the ship safe 24 hours a day. Onboard, Turkish workers keep the generators maintained and running.

Turkish workers run fuel hoses across the deck of the Dogan Bey power ship to keep the generators filled and pumping to capacity. Photo by Sgt. Francis Horton

“Sandstorms are the biggest problem,” Cevlik said. The generators operate as close to full capacity as possible, but during periods of high wind, sand and dirt get caught in the filters causing overheating and automatic shutdowns.

Cevlick is confident issues like these will be easy to get around. The next step is to hire a security officer to help bring the ship up to international safety standards.

“We want to make this environment better,” Cevlick said.

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Story by Sgt. Francis Horton

Mohammed Qasim, quality assurance representative for the electrical substation project, stands next to one of the six units recently delivered to the Al Anbar Ministry of Electricity. Each unit can distribute electrical power to 3,000 homes.

Fans of the old Star Trek television series were constantly bombarded each episode by Capt. Kirk pleading with Scotty, the engineering officer of the star ship Enterprise, for more engine power to escape one deep space disaster after another. Iraqi residents are also reiterating that plea for more electrical power with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity as they place more demands on an aging, underpowered and overworked national power grid.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been introducing innovative ways to solve electrical power issues and bridge the gap between supply and demand in Iraq’s quest for more electrical power. To date, USACE has completed 614 electrical projects totaling more than $3 billion. One such project was recently completed when the USACE Gulf Region District, Al Anbar Resident Office, delivered the final two of six mobile electrical substations to the Ministry of Electricity in Al Anbar province.

The project, according to Maj. Joseph Geary, officer in charge of the Al Anbar Resident Office, is designed to assist a generally neglected segment of the population. “The intent of the project is to provide the government of Iraq the equipment necessary to distribute power to many of its small villages and cities without the need for a much more expensive permanent substation,” Geary said. “Additionally, as the substation is entirely self-contained on a trailer, it allows flexibility to cover faults that often occur in the country’s aging power grid.”

The purpose of the substations, according to Geary, is to step-down the voltage emitted from the national power grid and make the electricity usable to the consumer. Electrical power from a power plant is distributed at 132kV (kilovolts). The portable substations are capable of stepping down the power to a more manageable 11kV, which when hooked into a transformer can supply electricity to homes and businesses. Each electrical substation unit can supply electricity to over 3,000 homes.

Al Anbar office engineers were tasked with designing and managing the construction of the six self-contained, trailer mounted 33kV/11kV substations, capable of being quickly tied into the national power grid. Unlike the normal substation design, the units had to be hardened and capable of operating in extreme desert environments, according to Geary. The substations also had to be durable enough to operate in that extreme environment for 15-years. The substation contract also includes a week of hands-on training for Iraqi technicians and government officials.

The portable substations are just one of the many USACE projects designed to provide sustainable electrical distribution capabilities in the Al Anbar region. “Our other active electrical projects include two large 132kV substations that serve the residents of Al Fallujah and Ar Ramadi,” Geary said. “Past projects by USACE include a 400kV overhead line, three 33kV/11kV permanent substations and numerous transformers and overhead lines serving individual neighborhoods in Fallujah and Ramadi.”

The Iraqi owned Altayf Al Abaid Enterprises served as the general contractor for the project. Funding for the $9.6 million project was provided through the Economic Support Fund.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq has completed thousands of reconstruction projects in partnership with the U.S. Government and the Government of Iraq. Since 2004, USACE has completed 5,257 projects throughout Iraq valued at more than $9.1 billion, and has more than 250 projects ongoing. The overall reconstruction effort in Iraq currently provides jobs for more than 20,000 Iraqis.

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Story by Michael Scheck

Lt. Col. Hugh R. McNeely, deputy commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, listens to Mr. Mutafa as he explains the capabilities of the Mullah Abdullah Power Plant and the areas that need improvement. Photo by Pfc. Jared Sollars

Improvement of essential services is just one of many areas that U.S. Forces focus on to bring stability to the Kirkuk province of Iraq.

Lt. Col. Hugh R. McNeely, deputy commander of the 2nd “Black Jack” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, recently visited the Mulla Abdulah Power Plant to see how the plant would be affected by one of its suppliers of natural gas cutting back for a month to perform maintenance.

The visit was also an opportunity for McNeely to tour the facility and discuss the needs of the plant with the plant’s manager, assistant manager, chief of technical engineering and chief engineer.

When asked by McNeely if the North Gas Company’s reduction of gas production would affect the power plant’s production of electricity, Mr. Mansor, the plant manager, replied, “We see no problems because the North Gas Company is our backup now. As long as we can continue to use A’agil Oil Field with no problem, it would be fine.”

The area of concern was that a lack of fuel for the plant could cause electricity shortages in the nearest major city, Kirkuk.

“The Mulla Abdulah Power Plant is a key part of electrical power generation in Kirkuk and contributes to the Iraqi national power grid,” said McNeely.

The plant was built in the 1950s and would be capable of producing 402 megawatts of electricity per day were its equipment completely functional and operating at peak efficiency. It currently has 18 turbine units – six are 10-year-old models, and the remaining 12 are 28-year-old models. Due to the limited capabilities of the equipment, the plant is currently only producing an average of 220 megawatts per day.

“Their newer turbines are sound pieces of machinery, whereas the older turbines are not as reliable,” said Sgt. 1st Class Charles R. Bennett, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the provincial reconstruction team.

One of the plant’s newer turbines is down due to rotor damage and under repair at the Dibbis Power Plant. Two of the older turbines are down permanently and being used for parts to keep the other turbines running.

“The employees at the plant are being very innovative on the upkeep of their equipment,” said Bennett. “They’re tooling themselves for success.”

The plant employs approximately 300 people, but plant management has asked the Ministry of Oil and Electricity to allow them to employ more engineers. They have also asked for more equipment – a bucket truck, a crane and four pickup trucks – which have not yet been delivered.

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Story by Pfc. Jared Sollars

The Government of Iraq, backed by Coalition forces, has come a long way since 2007 in providing the citizens of northwest Baghdad the power they need to run home appliances and businesses.

Many government projects, to include power plants, solar panels and micro generation have been completed and more will be set in place to meet the needs of the people’s growing demand for power, said Mahdi Jonny, bilingual, bicultural electrical engineer, joint project management office, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

“Iraq has scattered electrical generation plants comprised of thermal, hydro, gas turbine and diesel,” said Jonny. “There are also imports from three different countries: Iran, Turkey and Syria.”

The imported energy from the three countries provides eight thousand megawatts on a daily basis, an increase of nearly six megawatts daily from last year.

Jonny said, compared to last year, citizens of northwest Baghdad are getting a better supply of power, but still don’t have the grid power to run equipment to run 24-hour operations.

“If you really look at the weekly Iraq energy analysis overview that is generated by the Iraqi Energy Fusion Cell of the International Zone, they show that there are certain key events and engagements that have happened between the Coalition forces and the Ministry of Electricity,” said Jonny. “What this means is we have increased the flow of oil by 150 thousand barrels a day.”

Jonny added that the plants will receive most of the oil so they can continue running at 100 percent.

“That being said, there are also a lot of areas already initiated, such as the construction of more power plants and this is ultimately translated into an increased power supply.”

Other plans for more power are under way for the near future, including a power plant project in Hurriyah, a neighborhood in the Kadhamiyah district of northwest Baghdad.

“There is a major power plant under construction in Hurriyah that is probably going to come on line within the next 12 months, and this will add a substantial amount of power to the grid,” said Col. Gerald Gibbons, Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team representative, 2nd HBCT, 1st Inf. Div. “The demand has gone up substantially and the supply has not gone up at the same rate. The demand has exceeded the supply, and the supply has to catch up by generation of more power.”

Gibbons explained how the process of energy circulation works in Iraq.

“In the three major components to the power circulation, (which are) generation, transmission and distribution, the government of Iraq is doing a good job of transmitting and distributing power among the population,” he said. “The bottom line is the generation has not kept up with the demand; they simply need to generate more power.”

Another way the Iraqi Government, local leaders and Coalition forces have alleviated the grid’s electricity has been through micro generation, or the disbursement of fuel-powered generators throughout Baghdad.

“What we have done is provide power with micro generators, and with them, they get fuel enough to run eight hours a day,” said Gibbons. “If companies or people have unlimited funds, they can buy their own generator and fuel and a fair amount of them do just that.”

Gibbons also said these projects have greatly improved the quality of life for the citizens and they will allow them to keep their businesses open and their household appliances turned on.

Although the people of northwest Baghdad are happier because they are receiving power for longer hours, Jonny said the ultimate goal is to supply power to the population 24 hours per day.

“It’s a matter of time until this happens; many companies have been contracted, and I’m sure the Ministry of Electricity and the Fusion Cell are in continuous engagement to close in on the supply and demand difference within the next two years,” said Johnny. “Within five years, I think the electricity situation will be very different.”

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