The Baghdad West North substation, which has been energized, is expected to decrease bottlenecks and increase the hours of available power.
Located nearly 35km away from Baghdad, the substation can feed 132 kV substations located at Kadhmiya, Al Shualla and Al Sabbeaat, and also five new substations that are planned to be developed at a later stage.
The Baghdad West North substation will also play its part in connecting power from the Basmaya Power Plant, Taji Gas Power Plant and mobile gas power plants to the Iraqi national grid, said GE.
Iraq Minister of Electricity Luay Al-Khatteeb said: “The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity is seeking to provide reliable, uninterrupted power across the country.
“The opening of the Baghdad West North substation reflects our efforts to achieve this goal. The substation will play a critical role in helping to deliver much-needed power, especially in the upcoming summer months.”
Through a turnkey contract, GE provided the design, equipment manufacturing, site delivery, erection, testing and commissioning, and training of personnel for the Iraqi substation project.
The company’s local engineers completed the substation’s construction, erection, commissioning, and testing in collaboration with domestic subcontractors.
GE Power Grid Solutions Middle East, North Africa and Turkey president and CEO Mohammed Mohaisen said: “The energization of the substation reflects our commitment to support Iraq in building a robust electricity infrastructure.
“Our turnkey approach to project development helps bring best-in-class technology and expertise across every touch-point of the project. As a partner in the country’s progress, we will continue to deliver on our promise to the Iraqi people of supporting the government to build a stable electricity network that meets their needs.”
For GE, the Baghdad West North substation contract followed a $400m contract in November 2017 to develop and rehabilitate 14 more electric substations, and to deliver critical equipment like transformers, circuit breakers and other related equipment.
The 14 substations will be connected to power plants across the Ninawa, Salah Al Din, Al Anbar, Karbala, Baghdad, Qadisiyyah and Basra governorates.
