Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity has contracted Germany’s Siemens to upgrade two power generation units at Baghdad’s four-unit Sadr gas-fired power plant in Baghdad. Siemens gives current capacity as 600MW and says the upgrade will boost effective capacity by 25MW whilst increasing thermal efficiency, though even the implied post-upgrade figure of 625MW is lower than the plant’s 640MW nameplate capacity.
Improvements to Iraqi generating plants and the supply grid are urgently needed as Baghdad struggles to tackle mounting unrest over inadequate electricity and water supplies (MEES, 20 July). Although the political situation remains precarious, Iraq’s generators are benefitting from increased gas fuel availability due to reduced flaring in oilfields and pipeline imports from Iran (MEES, 25 May). (CONTINUED - 119 WORDS)