Iraq

Iraq power production up to 2003 levels

Article published on the 2008-08-25 Latest update 2008-08-25 14:05 TU

Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, Baghdad, August 2007.
(Photo: AFP)

Iraq is now producing as much power as it did just before the US-led invasion in March 2003 but, says a senior official, today those levels are insufficient to meet peak-time demand. Current production stands at 5,302 MW, virtually the same as the 2002 level of 5,305 MW.

The Iraqi Electricty Ministry's operations and control chief Adel Mahdi says that there are still some lines which were sabotaged two or three years ago and that his services are trying to rebuild them.

At the same time, demand has risen rapidly over the same period, forcing the ministry to continue rationing domestic supply.

He says, "the capacity of Iraqi power stations is actually far higher, but the plants are so outdated and in bad shape that they frequently shut, slashing generation to less than half of the 13,000 MW of nominal capacity." 

This year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki waived the normal tendering process for power generation projects in an attempt to make new plants operation as quickly as possible.

The move has led to new deals with firms from China, Germany, Iran and South Korea as well as the United States.