Pirelli Energy Cables and Systems awarded a 190 mln dollar contract in US

• PIRELLI AWARDED A CONTRACT IN THE ENERGY CABLES AND SYSTEMS SECTOR IN UNITED STATES WORTH OVER 190 MILLION DOLLARS
• A 65 MILE LONG SUBMARINE LINK WILL INTERCONNECT PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, NEW JERSEY GRIDS WITH THE LONG ISLAND AND NEW YORK POWER GRIDS
• THIS CONTRACT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IN THE ENERGY CABLES SECTOR IN 2005

Milan, 21 July 2005 - Pirelli has been awarded a contract in the Energy Cables and Systems Sector by an American company Neptune Regional Transmission System LLC, for Engineering, Procurement and Construction of an high voltage direct current submarine Cable System that will interconnect the New Jersey grid at Sayreville and the New York grid at North Hempstead, Long Island and is worth over 190 million US dollars.

This contract is the most important for submarine power industry in 2005. The project foresees the manufacturing and laying of a 65 mile long submarine power cable system, one of the most technologically advanced with its capability of transmitting a continuous capacity of 660MW at a 500kV direct current voltage.

The whole project, worth over 400 million US dollars, was awarded to a consortium, including the Energy Cables and Systems Sector of Pirelli and Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution. Pirelli Energy Cables and Systems is in the process of becoming a stand-alone entity along with Pirelli Telecom Cables and Systems once its acquisition by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners announced on June 1st is completed. Pirelli will manufacture and install with its own cableship Giulio Verne the submarine power cable, which will transmit 660 MegaWatts continuously and not less than 750 MW in overload conditions at a DC voltage of 500 kiloVolts; the very long length of the cable will require the installation into two separate campaigns.

In addition, Pirelli will install 20 km of high voltage underground cables in Long Island, which will interconnect the submarine link to the nearest terminals, and the medium voltage extruded submarine and land cable for the return current of the whole system. Siemens will provide and install the converter stations.

The project will also comprise a 345kV AC Cable System connecting the Duffy Avenue Converter Station to the Newbridge Road Interconnection facilities of Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and will consist of the first bulk 345kV AC extruded dielectric underground power cable system installed in the United States.

This system will allow LIPA to seek energy purchase contracts with suppliers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland and therefore will potentially increase power availability in New York area.

The submarine and underground cables will be manufactured at Italian plant in Arco Felice (Naples). The complete system is planned to be in operation by July 2007.