Posted on 01/01/2008 3:17:02 PM PST by mdittmar
Construction of a 400 kV substation in Maysan Province has been completed and the facility has been turned over to Iraqi
authorities.
Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a cost of nearly $37 million,the substation is located in the Maysan capital of Al Amarah.
The project consisted of engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and energization, supply of spare parts, and training of local contractor staff and Ministry of Electricity engineers, both locally and overseas.
"Pictures don't tell you how complex and how successful it really is," said Stephen Pitts, a program manager with USACE's Gulf Region South District.
(Excerpt) Read more at grd.usace.army.mil ...
There are seven other similar projects. Six of these are 133kV substations and the other one is 33/11kV substation.
These smaller projects are no less important when you consider that the electric grid needs to have all these components in order to function properly. Once functioning, the citizens of Maysan Province will have a strong, reliable power grid that should experience fewer problems, Eidson said.
They will serve more than 785,000 residents and provide the principle power to the southern and central part of the province," he said.
Just another Official Press Release from USACE's Gulf Region Division that you will never see in the old media.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division Press Releases are in PDF.
Ping
Inexplicably, the substation immediately rusted, crumbled, and exploded.
Paid for by your tax dollars even as maintenance on US infrastructure continues to put off indefinitely due to lack of funds.
Have a great 2008.
The US Corps of Engineers have no business using American tax money to build electric power plants in Iraq, when there are plans to build US infrastructure or to maintain US infrastructure that are not being implemented due to lack of funds. Iraqis should be building their own power plants using money taken from the Iraqi people or from oil revenues to the Iraqi government. Why should the US government take money from me to pay for their electricity when their country is floating on a sea of oil and oil is selling for close to $100 a barrel?
Well,Freedom Calls.
Because this is how you win hearts and minds.
“Paid for by your tax dollars even as maintenance on US infrastructure continues to put off indefinitely due to lack of funds.”
Probably paid for with that evil oil money, as shameful as that is.
Funny though, they were just replacing some power poles near me. The wood ones were old and split while the new concrete ones are hurricane proof. Nope, no maintenance here.
I work for an electric utility. We’re always expanding, rebuilding, modernizing, replacing our physical plant, including substations. We don’t have any crumbling ones that I know of.
Bravo Sierra. That's exactly what they should be doing. I guess you'd rather have them fixing levees around New Orleans?
Oh, wait...
I’ve seen your concrete poles in Florida. They must be termite proof as well. I bet they are some expensive.
If there's nothing wrong with them, then why are you replacing them?
We had rolling 15-minute blackouts here in Texas in 2006 because the electrical infrastructure could not support the demand. An extra 400 kV substation here sure would have helped.
not being implemented due to lack of funds
Yet when a law was proposed to stop funding bike paths and light rail until all inadequate bridges were up to standard, our “political leaders” voted it down.
My brother in law’s company inspected the Minnesota bridge two years ago and told the state the bridge had to be repaired.
Here’s how the “people’s representatives responded”:
But $10 million of that was dedicated to a commuter rail line, $250,000 for the “Isanti Bike/Walk Trail,” $200,000 to bus services in Duluth, and $150,000 for the Mesabi Academy of Kidspeace in Buhl. None of it went for bridge repair.
http://opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110010490
Nope. Back in 2002 Lawrence Lindsey was fired from the White House after he claimed that a war in Iraq might cost as much as $200 billion and were promised that Iraqi oil revenue would pay for the cost of rebuilding after the war. Well, $200 billion is in the rear view mirror. We are now at close to five times that.
Yes I would actually. If you want them building electrical substations for Iraqi civilians in Iraq, then you should pay for it. I'll pay my part for them building electrical substations to serve US military bases, that's not a problem. So this April 15, why don't you include an extra $1,000 in your tax return and make it payable to "Bureau of the Public Debt" to cover all of us who would rather our money be spent here?
That's almost a crime and certainly a shame. Isn't the legislature there Democrat controlled? Although there's plenty of blame to go around both parties mind you.
Which child will respect you more -- the one you give a new car to on their 16th birthday or the one you help get a job and support him while he works for the money to buy a car?
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