GE Wins Major Hydro Service Contract in Norway.

Business Editors

Norway's biggest power producer, Statkraft SF, has awarded the largest turbine upgrade contract in the company's history to GE Hydro, a unit of GE Power Systems, for the refurbishment of five hydropower plants.

The project covers 770 megawatts of capacity and is valued at US$11.9 million.

This is the most extensive turbine modernization project to date for the Oslo-based Statkraft, which owns about 30 percent of the country's electric power production capacity, all of which is hydro-based. The upgrades, to be completed successively beginning in the fall of 2003 and continuing through the end of 2005, will improve the reliability and efficiency of these aging plants and strengthen Statkraft's position within the Nordic competitive power market.

Under the terms of the contract, GE will upgrade and refurbish a total of 10 Pelton turbines at Statkraft's Aura North, Aura South, Hoyanger, Mauranger and Mar hydropower plants. The turbines include both horizontal and vertical units, all manufactured by other OEMs. The project scope includes the design, model testing, engineering, installation and commissioning of new runners and refurbishment of existing parts. Efficiency improvements from the upgrades are expected to range from one to three percent at maximum output.

"Statkraft awarded this order to GE in stiff competition with the largest international hydro turbine suppliers," said Tron Engebrethsen, Statkraft's production director. "Some key evaluation factors were technical design and runner production, turbine efficiency, reliability and price. Reliability of the runners is particularly important to us and in this regard, GE offered a product that satisfied all of our requirements."

"This multi-unit service contract demonstrates GE Hydro's commitment to the Nordic market and our ability to bring value to our customers. We are proud to be selected by Statkraft for this historic contract and look forward to working with them to upgrade these power stations," said Per Simonsson, GE Hydro's regional sales director for Europe.

The turbine runners for the project will be manufactured at GE's Norway production facility. Using a newly developed GE technology, the runners will be made from solid, rather than traditional cast, forgings to improve the accuracy and fatigue strength of these core turbine components.

Equipment for the project is expected to begin shipping in mid-year of 2003 and will continue through 2005.

Statkraft SF is a Norwegian, wholly state-owned power utility. Norway's largest producer of electric power, the company operates an aggregate production capacity of just over 35 TWh, corresponding to about 30 percent of the nation's hydropower production. Statkraft has approximately 1,200 employees and is Norway's largest land-based taxpayer. It also has ownership interest in Norwegian energy companies Skagerak Energi, Agder Energi, HEAS, BKK, Trondheim Energiverk, E-CO and Fjordkraft, and has power trading subsidiaries in Germany and The Netherlands.

GE Hydro, headquartered in Oslo, is a world leader in the supply of turbines, generators, and water systems for the hydropower and water control industries. Capabilities include complete water to wire solutions for new hydroelectric plants and refurbishment and service for existing plants.

About GE Power Systems

GE Power Systems (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services and management systems, with 2001 revenues exceeding $20 billion. The business has the largest installed base of power generation equipment in the global energy industry. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Power Systems provides equipment, services and management solutions for the power generation, oil and gas, distributed power and energy rental industries.