Diyala leaders bring power to people

Photo By Spc. Grant Okubo | A red ribbon surrounds a micro-power generator Sept. 30, 2008, that will provide power to 300 households in the Diyala neighborhood of Karadah in eastern Baghdad. Community leaders and and Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony that celebrate the completion of the project.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.04.2008

Story by Spc. Grant Okubo 

4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

By Sgt. Grant Okubo
4th BCT PAO, 10th Mtn. Div. (L), MND-B

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Community leaders brought additional power to the people of Diyala when they unveiled new micro-power generators in the Karadah District of eastern Baghdad Sept. 30.

Ali Al Abdilzahara, president of essential services for the Zafaraniyah area, cut the ribbon to mark the momentous event; the generators will provide power to 300 Diyala households for up to 12 hours a day.

Sabah Alrobaiey, neighborhood council chairman of Diyala, and Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, were on hand to help Diyala residents celebrate the occasion.

"This project will help a lot of people," expressed Abdilzahara, saying the micro-power generators will help the people get more power and solve some problems in the area.

For the first three months, power the generators provide will be free to residents. After that period, citizens who draw power from the generators will pay approximately $8 for every amp of electricity, said Abdilzahara, explaining that people are thrilled about the project but hope for extended service in certain areas where enough power is not supplied, said Abdilzahara.

Feedback from Diyala citizens has been very positive. Now, instead of just one or two hours of power, a family can enjoy approximately 12 hours of power a day, said Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Allen, effects non-commissioned officer in-charge for 5th Bn., 25th FA Regt. coalition forces are projected to hand over full operations of the project to local officials in three months, he added.

The micro-power generators are one of the key projects for the area essential services council. Other projects include hospitals and schools.

"This is a temporary fix to a bigger problem," expressed Allen, a Daytona Beach, Fla., native.

Allen said he hopes that future essential services projects, including a recent partnership between the government of Iraq and General Electric, will provide new generators as part of a more permanent solution to Iraq's power issues

"It will only get better from here," said Maj. Robert Machen, executive officer for 5th Bn., 25th FA Regt., from College Station, Texas. "Just as it has in our own country, it will take constant supervision, constant management and constant good governance to make it work."

• Date Taken: 10.04.2008
• Date Posted: 10.04.2008 16:19
• Story ID: 24517
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ