Siemens, GE Sign Preliminary Agreements to Boost Iraq Power Network

   By Nathan Allen 
 

Siemens AG (SIE.XE) and General Electric Co. (GE) have both signed preliminary agreements with Iraq's Ministry of Electricity to rebuild the country's damaged power infrastructure, according to statements released over the weekend.

GE said Sunday it plans to add around 14 gigawatts of capacity to the Iraqi grid, create up to 65,000 jobs and help the government avoid recoverable losses of up to $3 billion a year.

The U.S. conglomerate said it will initially upgrade existing sites to bring around 1.5 gigawatts of power online by 2019.

Siemens said Saturday it will install around 11 gigawatts of capacity over four years, increasing current capacity by nearly 50% and creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Within three months Siemens said it could restore power to around 300,000 people.

Neither company has signed a binding contract, but the preliminary agreements should serve as a first step toward a definitive deal.

Previously both companies had been bidding to secure one overarching contract, valued by media reports at around $15 billion.

The two rivals have been battling to secure contracts for their struggling fossil-fuel generation businesses, which have been forced to cut thousands of jobs in recent years as the global transition to renewables has weighed on demand for large turbines.

Write to Nathan Allen at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2018 02:32 ET (06:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.