Powering Iraq through the Pandemic: GE Executes Critical Service Works at Al Qudus Power Plant

Highlighting its continued support to the Iraqi government to enhance power generation and strengthen the country’s electricity infrastructure, GE today announced the completion of a major overhaul of a 9E.03 gas turbine at the Ministry of Electricity’s Al Qudus Power Plant. This helps to secure the delivery of up to 125 megawatts (MW) of power from the unit to the national grid, meeting the demand for electricity with more reliable power. The staff at the site from both the Ministry of Electricity and GE showed tremendous commitment and resilience in continuing to execute the project despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with the necessary safety measures in place.

“Recent events have helped us all see that there are many things we can live without; however, reliable electricity remains key to powering progress and enabling health, safety and connection for communities across Iraq and the world,” said Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Gas Power Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. “We are honored by the trust placed by the Ministry of Electricity in our team’s ability to execute critical maintenance works at the Al Qudus Power Plant and remain committed to providing industry-leading technologies, advanced services and local capabilities to further strengthen Iraq’s power sector, no matter how challenging the circumstances.”

The current project at Al Qudus builds on GE’s successful execution of various works at the plant in the recent past, including the installation and commissioning of a new 9E gas turbine in 2019. The 9E technology has the capability to run on up to 50 different kinds of fuels, providing additional flexibility to the Ministry of Electricity to operate the plant with the most economic fuel source available and keep generating power using liquid fuels when gas is unavailable.

With over 50 years of presence in Iraq, GE has supported the development of critical infrastructure across the country, including energy, healthcare and transportation. Since 2011 alone, the company has helped to bring up to 15 gigawatts of power online in Iraq, including in conflict-affected areas such as Diyala and Mosul. Working closely with the Iraqi Ministries of Finance and Electricity, GE has also collaborated with private and public financial institutions to help secure over US $2.4 billion in financing since 2015 for energy sector projects across the country.