Iraq’s Electricity Ministry has invited companies to submit expressions of interest (EOI) for the contract to develop a roadmap for the reform of the country’s electricity distribution sector.

The roadmap will provide an outline for the future development of Iraq’s distribution sector and examine the possible privatisation of the industry. The Electricity Ministry is being supported by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), which is a multi-donor trust fund that provides technical assistance to governments in infrastructure development.  

The distribution roadmap is part of the country’s efforts to develop its electricity sector to reduce power shortages and cope with increasing demand.  In 2012, the installed capacity of Iraq’s power plants was 8,500MW, with net power delivered to consumers estimated to be about 7,000MW. With an estimated peak demand of 16,000MW in the summer of 2013, it is vital that Iraq is able to push ahead with developing its power sector.

In addition to installing an additional 20,000MW of capacity by 2016, the Electricity Ministry is set to invest heavily in upgrading the country’s transmission and distribution networks to ensure that power reaches consumers.  Iraq’s Electricity Masterplan, which was completed in 2010 for the Electricity Ministry by US consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff, set out an investment programme of $75bn in the electricity sector between 2012 and 2030, which included $30bn for distribution schemes.