Iraqi PM inaugurates Al-Abbasiya power plant in Najaf
The power plant, developed by the German corporation Siemens, had been designed to alleviate power supply issues on the national grid, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
The power plant is connected by two 132 kV transmission lines, extending over 29 kilometers, with a capacity of 240 megawatts per line.
On Monday, a new 480-megawatt electricity transmission line in the southern Iraqi province of Basra became operational, according to the Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Ziyad Ali Fadel.
These initiatives are part of the Iraqi government's strategy to improve the infrastructure of the transmission network and attain energy sustainability throughout Iraq.
The new electricity projects are expected to help bridge the gap in growing demand, especially during peak consumption periods in the summer.
Baghdad is taking steps forward to fulfill the country's growing energy demand, as between 32,000 and 35,000 megawatts are needed to cover domestic consumption.
With the help of locally produced fuel, Iraq's electrical sector is set to make substantial progress toward power production projects, which will eventually lead to energy self-sufficiency.
Fadel mentioned earlier that achieving energy self-sufficiency and cutting dependency on imported fuel, which has led to a crisis in the country's electrical system in the last few years, are the main goals of the government's strategy to grow the energy sector.
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