In 2019, Siemens and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity agreed on a roadmap to stabilize electricity transmission and distribution nationwide. The Iraqi government commissioned the reconstruction of the power grid in order to replace large parts of the destroyed power infrastructure and meet the increasing demand for electricity within the country.
After successful negotiations with the Iraqi government, the reconstruction is carried out in four steps which will provide approximately 23 million people with a reliable power supply in the long term. In a first step, more than two million Iraqis in Basra will get access to a reliable energy supply. A gas-fired 500-megawatt power plant will be built in Zubaidiya, and 40 Siemens Energy gas turbines will be upgraded with upstream cooling systems. In addition, 39 Siemens Energy power transformers will be installed in 13 new substations required for transmitting the power to Basra, Missan, Theiqar, Kut, Diwaniya and Hilla.
The aim is to refurbish and upgrade the existing plants as well as expanding the transmission and distribution networks.
The Dresden transformer factory had faced the challenge of delivering 74 transformers to Iraq within a period of only 15 months. The very short design phase up to the start of manufacturing also presented some technical challenges. However, the design was completed quickly according to the customer's wishes and production of the 74 transformers started on time.
The Corona pandemic also placed several restrictions on suppliers and Siemens Energy’s own manufacturing capacity. Nevertheless, the delivery date for all components could be met to the customer's satisfaction.
