MOSCOW, RUSSIA - April 15, 2008 : – GE Energy has signed contracts totaling more than $120 million with five Russian power companies as part of a country-wide effort to increase the efficiency of the district heating infrastructure in the region.

Under the scope of the projects, GE Energy will provide the following:

• Two LM6000-PF SPRINT packages to ZAO Energokaskad for use at OAO SGK TGK-8's Astrakhan GRES plant;
• Two LM6000-PD SPRINT packages to E4 Group for use at TGK-4's Kursk North-West Boiler House plant;
• One LM2500+G4 package to the Center of Scientific and Technical Innovations of Power (CSTIP) for use at TGK-4's Kaluga TEC plant; and
• One LM2500+G4 DLE package to CSTIP for use at TGK-4's Livny TEC-2 steam power plant.

"Russia's energy demand is expected to grow at one percent per year*, creating a focus in the region to reduce energy intensity by retrofitting existing facilities. In response, many power companies in Russia are seeking ways to increase efficiency and reliability of their district heating stations," said Charles (Chip) Blankenship, general manager of GE Energy's aeroderivative business.

"Flexible generation is a key benefit of GE Energy's aeroderivative gas turbine offerings in meeting the load needs associated with Russia's wide temperature swings. In addition, our aerode rivative technology has a proven record of lower maintenance costs and increased efficiency and reliability, making them ideal to address the pressing needs of power companies in Russia," Blakenship added.

ZAO Energokaskad is the EPC contractor building the Voronezj and Astrakhan plants for TGK-4 and TGK-8, respectively. Both cogeneration plants are aiming to increase the efficiency of their existing district heating stations and improve capacity.

Currently, the Voronezj plant operates gas-fired boilers with steam turbines. The two LM6000-PD SPRINT units will be added to the heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) to give the plant additional power at the required conditions. The two 48MWe LM6000-PF units dedicated to the Astrakhan plant expansion will help provide much needed local power and heat.

Equipment for these two projects will be built at GE's facility in Hungary. The equipment will be delivered to the Voronezj site in October 2008 and to the Astrakhan site in January 2009. The E4 Group and CSTIP, both located in Moscow, are expanding TGK-4's Kursk North-West Boiler House plant, as well as the Kaluga TEC and Livny TEC-2 plants, respectively. These projects are part of TGK-4's strategy to replace old and inefficient steam stations with gas turbine technology.

The addition of an LM6000-PD aeroderivative gas turbine at the Kursk North-West Boiler House will significantly increase power production to cover the rising need for electricity in the city of Kursk while at the same time reducing CO2 emissions, as one of the old steam boilers will be closed. The station currently has five gas-fired boilers with steam turbines. TGK has decided to add a combined-cycle plant to increase the efficiency and power output of its existing district heating station. The power produced will be sold to the grid. The equipment will be built at GE Energy's facility in Hungary and is expected to be delivered by the end of 2008.

CSTIP will be modernizing TGK-4's Kaluga TEC and Livny TEC-2 power plants. Each plant will add an LM2500+G4 aeroderivative gas turbine from GE Energy. This will significantly increase power production to cover the rising need for electricity in the cities of Kaluga and Livny, while reducing CO2 emissions with the elimination of old steam boilers.

In both cases, TGK-4 needs to increase efficiency of the existing district heating stations and add 20 - 40 megawatts of power. Each site currently has two gas-fired boilers with steam turbines and will add one gas turbine with exhaust to the existing boilers. GE Energy is providing the gas turbine packages plus heat exchangers for the TEWAC (totally enclosed water to air cooled) system. The equipment for these projects will be built at GE Energy's Houston, Texas facility. The Kaluga TEC equipment is expected to ship in June 2008 and the Livny equipment is scheduled to ship in August 2008.

GE Energy's aeroderivative division is a leading supplier of aeroderivative gas turbines and packaged generator sets for industrial and marine applications. The company provides power-generating equipment to utilities, industries and marine fleets throughout the world. It is also the world's largest and most experienced aeroderivative gas turbine service provider.

About GE Energy

GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2007 revenue of $22 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.

About GE

GE is Imagination at Work-diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing and media content, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.

*source: Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre, "APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook 2030

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