GE edges its way onto power market

US giant General Electric, the world’s largest company in terms of stock market capitalisation, has begun a contract with the power producer, Nuclearelectrica, that operates the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, in a deal put at 9.5 million dollars (7.2 million euros).

The five-year contract involves supplying parts and technical assistance to Unit I of the power plant in Cernavoda and is the first such contract General Electric has signed in Central and Eastern Europe, according to officials from the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The new heads of the ministry held talks late last week with the chairman of General Electric Energy, John Rice, about the involvement of the US giant in power projects in Romania.

General Electric is one of the world’s largest suppliers of power equipment and services, but until now has not gone further than analysis of the Romanian market.

The domestic power market, which is put at more than 500 million euros a year, is currently dominated by European groups: Siemens (Germany), ABB (Swiss-Swedish), Alstom (France), Schneider Electric (France), Moeller (Germany) and Va Tech (Austria). Other big players in field – such as Itochu Corporation (Japan) and General Electric – which entered the Romanian market late, are now trying to gain a favourable position on the market.

The turbo generator of Unit I of Cernavoda was produced by General Electric, the owner of the manufacturing licence, together with the Romanian company General Turbo Bucharest. General Electric are also involved in final stages of the construction of Unit II at the power station, a project worth over 800 million euros. adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro