Two USACE soldiers ensure nearly half a million Afghans see the light

Photo By No Data | Staff Sgt. Fenix Baptista, a prime power production specialist and contracting officer's technical representative with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 249th Engineer Battalion, is one of two soldiers that live and work at the small Bagh-E Pol power plant where electricity is produced and distributed to 450,000 residents in the city of Kandahar.  

AFGHANISTAN

08.14.2013

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Afghanistan District

KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The United Nations ranks Afghanistan among the nations with the lowest electricity production per capita. The World Bank identifies poor electricity access as the number one obstacle to investment here. In Kandahar, whether it’s powering a single light over the kitchen table so a student can do homework or powering plastic injection molding machines to produce commercial goods, promoting the standard of living and economic health requires power. To that end, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers implemented a transitional solution that provides consistent, predictable electricity to local residences and businesses: the Kandahar Bridging Solution.

Recognizing the link between electricity production and economic growth - and the impact both have on security and stability - the U.S. government and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, have sought ways to improve electricity production and distribution. The bridging solution provides diesel-powered generators at two small power plants in the city of Kandahar. One plant is located at Bagh-E Pol; the other is across town at the Shurandam Industrial Park. A U.S.-based contractor operates and maintains the two power plants with USACE oversight.

At Shurandam, where eight diesel-powered generators within the bridging solution program operate, nearly 70 businesses are up and running providing plastic wares, rubber goods and textiles to customers, explained Chief Warrant Officer 4 Keith Wright, an electrical technician with USACE Transatlantic Afghanistan District.

“At Bagh-E Pol, electricity is produced and distributed to 450,000 residents 24 hours a day,” said Staff Sgt. Fenix Batista. He and Sgt. Koutodjo Ayivi are the only soldiers who live and work at the small plant at Bagh-E Pol. As prime power production specialists with USACE 249th Engineer Battalion, Batista and Ayivi serve as contracting officer's technical representatives. They monitor the contractor's progress in fulfilling the technical requirements specified in the contract. Given their education and expertise, honed through completing the competitive Prime Power Production Specialist Course, several overseas contingency and domestic disaster relief operations, and training through the Defense Acquisition University, Batista and Ayivi are well-suited to serve as COTRs. They maintain records, monitor performance, draft reports, and confirm the contractor is meeting the terms and conditions under the contract. They live day-to-day, side-by-side with the contractor at the plant. The site features no morale, welfare or recreation tent, USO lounge or any other amusement, yet both soldiers don’t seem to mind the isolation or austerity.

“It’s about the mission,” said Batista, a former U.S. Marine infantryman. “And, I think it’s an important one. If you’re from a developed country, you might take electricity for granted. You flip a switch; the light comes on, but it’s not like that in Afghanistan,” said Baptista, 27, who was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated with his mother to the U.S. (New Jersey) in 1992.

Ayivi, 37, who was born and raised in Togo and immigrated to the U.S. (Maryland) in 2005, agrees. Communication, transportation, manufacturing, home and work life are improved with electricity, he asserted.

Batista and Ayivi use their downtime to pursue educational goals. Batista is two classes away from a Bachelor of Science in electronics engineering and is able to complete coursework online.

“I’ve always liked to take things apart, make them better and then put them back together,” Baptista said.

Ayivi is pursuing a Master of Science in accounting and is also taking courses online.

“I enjoy math and science,” Ayivi said, “I’m good with numbers.”

Both attend regionally-accredited universities based in Virginia.

USACE, other U.S. federal agencies, and Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, Afghanistan's national utility company, are hard at work building lasting solutions to improve power distribution and reliability throughout the country. Generators are not the sustainable option, rather are meant to provide a reliable, but temporary electricity solution while more enduring projects are underway. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and partners are laboring on the Southeast Power System-Kandahar and Southeast Power System-Helmand projects. Both seek to repair and rebuild existing transmission lines and substations.

Electrical workers from Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat participate in training at the plant designed to teach them basic electrical worker skills and safety and occupational health education as it pertains to electrical work. The SEPS projects and skills training for Afghan workers are longer-term solutions meant to spur economic development, improve quality of life, and foster increased security and stability in Kandahar.

• Date Taken: 08.14.2013
• Date Posted: 08.14.2013 06:25
• Story ID: 111922
• Location: AF