Siemens Gets EUR160 Million Deal For UK-Dutch Power Cable

May 22, 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc

Siemens AG's (SI) Power Transmission and Distribution unit has received a EUR160 million contract related to the construction of a power line between the U.K. and the Netherlands, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, U.K. power grid operator National Grid PLC (NGG) and Dutch power grid operator Tennet gave the go-ahead for construction of a 1,000 megawatt electricity cable between the two countries at a cost of EUR600 million.

The power cable, better known as BritNed, will run 260 kilometers from the Isle of Grain in Kent, southeast England, to Maasvlakte near Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Siemens will build two power convertor stations at the Isle of Grain and Maasvlakte.

Construction of the new power cable is expected to start this summer, subject to the relevant regulatory exemptions, and the link is expected to be operating by 2010.

Switzerland-based engineering firm ABB Ltd. (ABB) said Tuesday that it had received a contract to build two high-voltage direct current cables for the project.

A Siemens spokesman confirmed the order, but declined to comment on its value for the company.

Company Web site: http://www.siemens.com

-By Alexander Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 500, alexander.becker@dowjones.com