Royal Engineers bring power to the people of key port town

POWER returned to the homes of Umm Qasr yesterday for the first time since the outbreak of war.

A load cheer rang through the streets of the tiny run-down town as electricity flowed through what passes for the mains in a small group of houses.

It was the second boost of the day for the 35,000-strong population as clean water also began pumping in to the town.

The first power surge was a test run and electricity was being restored to the rest of Umm Qasr, the first town to be freed of the Saddam Hussein regime, during the morning.

It has come thanks to a team of five specialist Royal Engineers who have worked flat out for the last week to bring the power back on.

The men, from 528 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (Utilities), have brought a power station in the town's deep water port back on line and run the supply through a sub-station and into homes.

Major John Taylor, 35, from Newcastle, who headed the team, said: "This has been a great achievement by my men and we are proud of what we have done.

"Umm Qasr is the first town to be liberated and it was important to demonstrate what we can do.

"We needed to show the people back home we are here doing good. This war is not about oil, it's about sorting out these people.

"We're not just here to kill the bad guys but to put the place right and this is a good way of demonstrating that."

Prior to the war, Umm Qasr was powered by the Iraq national grid but that was unreliable and tended to switch off if demand was too high.

Major Taylor believes the power source was cut by officials in Basra in the days before the land offensive began, leaving the people without power, as well as water, for almost two weeks.

His team moved in to the power station on the docks as soon as British and US forces captured the strategic town.

Warrant Officer Daren Larmour, 35, from Bracknell, Berkshire, said: "Everything had been shut down and was covered in dust. There had been looting, especially the batteries to start up the generators.

"However, the port is not that old and a lot of it was only built in the 80s so we were always optimistic we could get the power back on."

Major Taylor added: "We came here with the job of restoring power to the port and getting that up and running, but implied in that was bringing the power back to the town as well.

"It is about helping them to help themselves. In the long term there is a lot of repair work still to be done but we are here to provide the skeleton system. The hope is the people themselves can sort the rest out."

Some of the former port workers are beginning to return. They are seen as brave men, as many still live in fear of repercussions from Saddam's forces as they will be seen as helping the coalition forces.

Rashid is one such man and he was too frightened to have his photo taken.

He is a machine fitter and has been helping the British Engineers bring the power station back on line.

His English was very broken and a sense of foreboding was never far from his eyes.

"Power to the town is good," he said. "Town needs power. Happy there is power."

The other engineers first involved in the work are Lance Corporal Dan Williams, 27, Staff Sergeant Barry Law, 32, from Sussex, and Major Jeremy Holman, 34, from Kent.

The team now numbers around 20 men and is working to establish full and reliable power both to the town and port but yesterday was a major breakthrough both for the people of Umm Qasr and the image of British soldiers working there.

An official switch-on in front of the world's media is expected today.