Iraq to tender new plants, triple power output by 2013

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Iraq to tender new plants, triple power output by 2013

Bloomberg

Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:09 PM

Iraq plans to almost triple power generation capacity to 17,000 megawatts by 2013, mostly through building new plants, Masaab Serri, an Electricity Ministry spokesman, said. Iraq plans to invite bids later this year for the construction of three power plants to boost output by 1,500 megawatts, he said today in a telephone interview from Baghdad. One plant will be built in the Najibiyeh region in the southern oil hub of Basra and two others in Nasiriyah and Haidariya in the central region of Najaf, he said. Iraq, holder of the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves, is struggling to raise power supplies, which are currently at about 6,000 megawatts, or half of its domestic demand of about 12,000 megawatts, Serri said. Demand is due to increase by at least eight percent in 2012, he said. Former Electricity Minister Karim Wahid quit in June amid violent street protests triggered by severe seasonal summer power shortages. Wahid said at the time that his efforts to overcome the problem had been thwarted by a lack of funding and fuel. Iraqis currently receive power from the national grid for an average of about one in every five hours. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged after forming his new government last month to address the electricity problem which is causing social problems and hurting economic activity. “There is a multi-billion dollar plan for the construction and rehabilitation of numerous electricity generation and distribution plants across the country,” Serri said. The government invited bids in December for the construction of four power plants to boost power-generation capacity by 2,750 megawatts. The bids will be for a 1,250- megawatt plant near Basra, and three 500-megawatt plants in the cities of Samawa, Diwaniya and Amarah. The country imports 550 megawatts from Iran and 200 megawatts from Turkey which has also sent two ships that distribute an additional 80 megawatts to southern Iraq, he said. “The Electricity Ministry made a plan this year to import an additional 300 megawatts from Iran,” Serri said. “Municipalities across Iraq were also given the permission to sign contracts to import power from neighboring countries and to establish small plants with capacities ranging from 5 to 10 megawatts to help face summer shortages,” he said. Iraq will start by the end of February to import electricity through Syria using a regional power grid, Al Baath newspaper said today, citing Syria’s Minister of Electricity, Ahmad Qusay Kayali. The regional grid connects Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Libya and the Palestinian Territories. During his visit to Baghdad yesterday, Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai also pledged to collaborate with Iraq in the electricity and energy industry. Iraq wants foreign investors to help it boost energy and electricity production. Output of both has suffered from insurgent attacks and a lack of investment since Saddam Hussein’s ouster in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

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