We lobbied Congress so our ratepayers would not get stuck with the extraordinary costs to rebuild the utility infrastructure.
Mercenaries have filled the gap in Iraq by providing cover to construction firms trying to rebuild public utilities that insurgents keep trashing, and by riding shotgun for American embassy and other civilian staff when they venture beyond the Green Zone.
The reconstruction program will focus on utilities, rebuilding infrastructure and housing and building a flood preparedness system.
Reconstruction costs alone could be at least $30 billion, once debris removal, rebuilding, equipment replacement, overtime, utility damage, subway repairs and other costs directly related to the attack are totaled.
Utility companies continued rebuilding the badly battered power grid, bringing the total of residents with restored power to more than 1.5 million, according to the state Emergency Management Division.
Mr. Mumm said he believed that his company's work rebuilding Iraq's electric and water utilities might not hold up unless the utility managers adopted modern operating procedures.
The package includes $2.7 billion for disaster relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $1.8 billion to build a new transit hub in Lower Manhattan, and $750 million to help major utilities rebuild equipment damaged in the attack.
The $5.5 billion of aid to New York includes $2.66 billion for emergency response and debris removal at the World Trade Center site, $750 million to help utilities rebuild equipment destroyed in the attacks, $1.8 billion to build a transportation hub connecting PATH trains and subway lines running through Lower Manhattan, and $167 million to repair the West Side Highway and other roads.
Natural gas prices reached a record in 2003, averaging $5.40 per million British thermal units and were expected to remain above $5 per million B.T.U.'s this year as electric utilities rebuild inventories to meet air-conditioning demand over the summer, according to Energy and Environmental Analysis, an economic research company in Arlington, Va.
This last item will help spare New Yorkers an extra hit on their utility bills to pay for rebuilding Lower Manhattan's demolished infrastructure.
