USAID's goals include the installation of new generation and
emergency repair or rehabilitation of power generation
facilities and electrical grids. The Ministry of Electricity,
USAID, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working
since May 2003 to restore the capacity of Iraq's power system.
Highlights this week USAID recently surpassed the 100-hour mark
reliability test for its V94 turbine generator at the Kirkuk
power plant. The V94 passed its one and only reliability test
without issue and was immediately placed in normal service
providing continuous power to the Iraqi grid. With an output of
260 MW, the enormous gas-powered combustion turbine generator
helped USAID-funded projects provide for 48 percent of Baghdad's
total electrical consumption on March 08. In addition to the
V94, its sister generator, the smaller V64 (65 MW) provides a
combined output capability of 325 MW. The V94 is one of the most
efficient units in the Iraqi system. The Kirkuk facility,
located 200 km north of Baghdad, lies