May 22^nd, 2010,
Dubai, UAE

AREVA’s Transmission and Distribution division (T&D) in the Near and Middle East has signed two major contracts for a total amount of €10M with the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA*) for Transmission Utility end-users in 6 GCC countries.

The first is a three-year extendable contract for preventive maintenance and emergency services for GCCIA’s High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) substation in Al Fadhili, Eastern Saudi Arabia, to preserve and protect the cooling system, HVDC poles, rectifier transformers, outdoor switchyard equipment and all auxiliary systems.

The second involves a two-year extendable maintenance contract for Automation Systems covering GCCIA’s AC & DC Protection Devices System, Substation Control Monitoring System, Telecom Infrastructure and the SCADA Energy Management System across the entire GCCIA grid, which includes seven 400 kV Substations and one Interconnection Control Center.

Michel Augonnet, Executive Vice President for the Systems Business Unit at AREVA T&D, said: “The HVDC substation we built for GCCIA is critical because it promotes the interconnection, reliability and availability of power across the region. This new contract will let us oversee the continued delivery of the sub-station and control center’s high-quality services, relying on the expertise and resources of our solid local network.”

AREVA T&D is one of the leading suppliers for the GCCIA Phase One interconnection project, and this new contract further reinforces their leadership in the region.