| BASRAH, Iraq, March 13, 2007 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently turned over a 132 kilovolt electrical substation at the port of Umm Qsar to the Iraqi government’s Minister of Electricity. Improving and enhancing Iraq’s electrical system is one of USACE’s most important missions, according to Natalie J. Sudman, project engineer for the Gulf Region South district. The $13.8-million project will provide electricity to the port, and to the homes and businesses in the vicinity.
“The main function of the project is to take the pressure off of the existing over-burdened substations and provide a more even distribution within the region,”
Natalie J. Sudman,
project engineer for the Gulf Region South district. |
“The main function of the project is to take the pressure off of the existing over-burdened substations and provide a more even distribution within the region,” Sudman explained. “This allows the local electrical distribution directorate the opportunity to supply more electricity to the Umm Qasr port facility and the town itself.” The substation plays an important role in maintaining the economic stability of Basrah, Sudman said, because it “supplies power to the port of Umm Qasr, which directly influences the economy of Iraq. The country needs more power for all kinds of consumption above and beyond domestic use, such as industrial and business use. The substation is part of the infrastructure that fulfills these needs.” Electricity is generated by large turbine engines and fed in high voltages to step-down substations in various stages. “The main job of the 132 kv substation is to take the high voltage and convert it to 33 kv and 11 kv for distribution to the region,” said Ali Shawi, an Iraqi project engineer working with USACE. One of the most important things to note because electrical systems are not stable in Iraq, said Shawi, is that USACE has successfully designed and constructed Umm Qasr 132 kv |
