Prysmian secures a set of Extra High Voltage projects worth a total of € 20.3 million.

Milan, May 2009. Prysmian Cables and Systems, a leading worldwide player in the energy and telecommunications cables market, has been awarded three significant contracts through its Dutch subsidiary for the upgrade and development of Extra High Voltage power transmission systems in The Netherlands and Germany. The projects’ value amounts to total €20.3 million.

The first contract has been signed with the Dutch state-owned power transmission system operator, TenneT.
It entails the upgrading of an existing 380 kV cable interconnection which runs across two canals in the outskirts of Rotterdam. The “Nieuwe Waterweg” (“New Waterway”) canal, in particular, is vital to the region’s economy, being the primary access from the North Sea to the port of Rotterdam. The new project, that follows the one engineered and installed in 2005, requests a higher single phase short circuit current and is able to satisfy a higher power demand. It consists of 13.2 kilometers of HV cables with separate optical fibres for temperature monitoring and a separate underground cable. Essential to Prysmian’s success has been the ability to deliver a turn-key service that will cover the whole spectrum of needed activities. In fact, the Group will provide project management, supervision and engineering, all civil works, cleaning and checking pipes. Prysmian will also be engaged in excavating, pulling and laying cables, delivering cables and accessories, adapting, revision and change of the existing water circulation system, jointing, testing all systems and maintenance. Completion is scheduled by the end of 2009.

The second project, assigned by the Dutch power company Eneco Energy and Danish leading energy company DONG Energy, will consist of 36.9 kilometers of a 380 kV cable system for the connection between the Dutch grid and a new gas-fired power plant to be constructed soon in Rotterdam. The project is expected to be completed in May 2010. The third project will be installed in Germany, and has been entrusted by Dutch energy company NUON. It comprises a connection between the grid and the new gas-fired power plant the client is about to construct outside the city of Frankfurt. The connection will be 8.4 kilometers long and will employ a 380 kV cable system. This project, to be completed by October 2010, requires a special design in order to reduce the Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) values and therefore improve efficiency and safety of the product.“The specific knowledge of the local circumstances in combination with the necessary engineering skills made us successful in acquiring these projects” says Gert Hoefman, CEO of Prysmian in The Netherlands. In the strategic sector of high-voltage cables, Prysmian can proudly boast its competitiveness, demonstrated by several contracts awarded throughout last years. For instance, Prysmian has recently won contracts for the construction of a high-voltage power transmission grid in Saint Petersburg (Russia) and for the project KAHRAMAA Phase VIII in Qatar aimed at the expansion of the local power transmission system.