OREANDA-NEWS. January 29, 2016. GE (NYSE: GE) is signing a power up plan with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE) for critical electricity generation and maintenance projects throughout the country. The power up plan comprises a set of technological solutions and upgrade projects to ensure essential incremental power, adding 700 megawatts to the national grid in time for the summer period.

The value of the contracts signed totals more than US\\$1 billion, with financing already in place for the initial stage of the projects equaling US\\$328 million.

Mussab Al Mudaris, speaker of the MoE, said, “We are committed to strengthening our infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity, particularly during peak summer months, including the upcoming summer season. GE’s power up plan illustrates GE’s commitment to helping Iraq during current economic challenges. The set of solutions it brings includes upgrades and maintenance projects that will strengthen our power plant’s productivity and efficiency levels. Our integrated approach to strengthening the capacity of our national grid aims to support economic growth by delivering assured power supply to meet the needs of infrastructure development as well as domestic consumption.”

Azeez Mohammed, president and CEO, GE’s Power Services business, Middle East and Africa, said, “The GE power up plan for Iraq, launched under the patronage and guidance of the prime minister and the minister of electricity, with the support of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, is a unique initiative that underlines our strong commitment to Iraq where we have over four decades of partnerships in the power sector. With the introduction of our Advanced Gas Path (AGP) solution and related works for the heavy-duty gas turbines at the power plants, we can significantly scale up capacity while also minimizing operational downtime. GE’s turnkey approach to the upgrades will help meet the peak summer demand for electricity and enable the MoE’s power plants to sustain higher levels of productivity and operational efficiency in the future.”

GE has commenced the shipment of parts and began the on-site execution of these projects at the MoE plants in Iraq. The technology upgrades include, among others, heavy fuel oil (HFO) conversions that will help scale up productivity in addition to installing advanced hot gas path components at the various gas turbines.

AGP technology advancements feature hardware design and materials improvements to the components of GE’s gas turbine hot gas path system. These innovations are coupled with GE’s advanced controls software to expand gas turbine performance and enable the power plants to operate more dynamically. The ministry will supply the heavy fuel oil to the sites where the HFO technology is being installed due to the scarcity of natural gas resources and to leverage the capacity of the new units during the upcoming summer season.

To date, over 130 GE turbines have been installed across the country. GE has over 40 years of presence in Iraq, and with three offices in Iraq—in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra—the company continues to deliver its latest technology and expertise to local customers.

About GE

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About GE Power

GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable.

For more information, visit the company's website at www.gepower.com.

About GE’s Power Services Business

GE’s Power Services business, headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, delivers world-class solutions for our customers across total plant assets and their operational lifetimes. This organization supports 2,800+ customers worldwide with an installed base of 28,000+ power generation assets, which includes other OEMs, and taps into the Industrial Internet to improve the performance of our solutions over the entire life cycle through the power of software and big data analytics.