GE boosts Iraq's power grid ahead of 2025 summer
Shafaq News/ Iraq's Ministry of Electricity and General Electric (Veranova) announced on Wednesday the completion of extensive upgrades at several major power plants, boosting the performance and efficiency of existing generation units in preparation for the summer season.
A ministry’s statement revealed that one of the projects involved upgrading 46 gas turbines across 12 power plants, which will add more than 500 megawatts to the national grid by the summer of 2025.
These upgrades are expected to enhance operational flexibility and significantly improve generation efficiency. The plants undergoing the upgrades include those in Nineveh, Diwaniya, Hillah, Karbala, Shatt al-Basra, Najibiya, Samawah, Dhi Qar, Khairat, and Hilla, where operations have been switched from heavy fuel oil to natural gas, according to the statement.
This conversion has already contributed an additional 260 megawatts of generation capacity, with further maintenance and updates at other plants expected to add another 250 megawatts by summer 2025.
In another project, the Ministry confirmed the completion of advanced hot gas path (AGP) upgrades on E9 gas turbines at the Quds, Dhi Qar, and Qayyarah plants, and the MXLII upgrade at the Al-Mansouriya plant on 13E2 gas turbines. These updates are expected to increase generation capacity by up to 6% per plant, allowing for more energy production with the same amount of fuel.
The Ministry also noted that GE (Veranova) had completed a range of comprehensive maintenance projects to ensure the readiness of approximately 3.7 gigawatts at key plants, such as Qayyarah, Diwaniya, Al-Hadriyah, and South Baghdad.
These projects are part of previously announced five-year service and upgrade agreements aimed at ensuring the long-term stability and readiness of Iraq’s national grid.
Iraq's Minister of Electricity, Ziad Ali Fadel, stated, “These diverse and comprehensive projects represent a pivotal step towards enhancing the electricity sector’s capabilities in Iraq, particularly during peak seasons.”
Joseph Anis, CEO of GE (Veranova) for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, noted that the successful completion of these projects on schedule is contributing to the efficiency and sustainability of the generation units in line with the Iraqi government’s energy sector vision.
Earlier in 2024, GE Veranova announced the early completion of six 132-kilovolt electrical substations, with the last, the Rusafa Central substation, completed on November 18, 2024, more than two months ahead of schedule.
In April 2024, the Iraqi government and GE Veranova signed memorandums of understanding, with the support of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, during his visit to the United States.
Over the past decade, GE Veranova has significantly supported Iraq’s electricity sector, adding 19 gigawatts to the national grid, building and operating 30 electrical substations, and contributing to the project linking Iraq’s electricity grid with that of Jordan.
The company also facilitated financing for energy projects exceeding $3 billion and continued to invest in training the Iraqi workforce and developing local talent.
