GE Energy to Supply Technology to Increase Capacity of Southern China's Power Grid; Signing Ceremony Attended by International Dignitaries.

ATLANTA -- GE Energy announced today that it will provide two 500 kV series compensation systems to the China Southern Power Grid Co. to increase the power transfer capability of its Louping-Baise-Mawo transmission corridor in southern China. Attending a ceremony held to celebrate the contract signing were U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans, President of GE Energy in China, Steve Fludder and General Manager of China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd Yu Jianguo.

GE Energy's series compensation systems include capacitors, metal oxide varistors, triggered air gaps, and a fully redundant digital protection & control system based on a GE FANUC programmable logic controller. The series capacitors compensate the transmission line impedance, thereby providing a cost-effective means of increasing the capacity of the transmission lines to deliver power. GE is a world leader in series capacitor application and technology, having installed over 100 systems globally. These systems will be GE's first in China.

"China's Southern Power Grid is expected to significantly enhance its power transmission capacity to support the growth on power demand in southeastern China," said Yu Jianguo, General Manager, China Southern Power Co. Ltd. "The addition of the series compensation system from GE Energy will help us to meet this goal."

The signing of the contract was celebrated in a ceremony on June 22, 2004 in Beijing, China.

"This is an important step in China's plan to bring reliable electric power to all of its citizens," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans. "It is a win-win situation when advanced technology such as GE's brings solutions to China's power capacity growth and supports jobs in the US."

"We are delighted to provide our advanced and proven technology for China Southern Power Grid Co.," said Ricardo Artigas, president of energy services for GE Energy based in Atlanta, Georgia. "This technology supports their long distance transmission lines that are an important element in bringing much needed power to the souteastern region of China from the west."

China's Southern Power Grid covers four provinces and one autonomous region in South China including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and Guizhou. The total gross domestic product of the five areas is expected to exceed six trillion yuan (722.9 billion US dollars) by 2020, and their growing economies will consume a large amount of electricity.

About GE Energy

GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2003 revenues of nearly $18.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries.