Pirelli And Alcatel Have Won A New Contract In Greece For A Submarine Power Connection System

Joint Press Release

Milan, 21 February 2000 - Pirelli Cables and Systems and Alcatel signed today a contract worth over 20 million euros for the supply of a high-voltage submarine connection system that will enable electric power to flow between the Ionian island of Zacynthus and the Peloponnese. The contract was initialled today in Athens between the Greek utility Public Power Commission (PPC) and a consortium formed by Pirelli Cables and Systems and Alcatel.

The submarine system that will link the " Flower of the East" with the Peloponnese will have its terminals on the north side of Zacynthus, at Argassi, where it will be connected to the local substation, and at Killini on the Peloponnese, where it will be linked to the overhead power transmission line. The system will transmit power of up to 175 MVA at a voltage of 150 kV a.c.

The strait separating the island from the mainland is 23 km wide and has a maximum depth of 600 metres, and beginning in May of next year it will accommodate the four cables that constitute the submarine system. The special double armour of the cables was designed to obtain optimal resistance against the remarkable mechanical stress generated by deep-water installation.

The system is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2001.

In 1994 Pirell and Alcatel already supplied Public Power Corporation with similar submarine connections between the islands of Evia-Andros-Tinos and Tinos-Siros-Mikonos in the archipelago of the Cyclades.