Contract Awarded

ABB Limited
17 November 1999


ABB IN $100-MILLION PROJECT TO UPGRADE CHICAGO POWER GRID

U. S. utility Commonwealth Edison using ABB technology to achieve maximum
competitive performance in newly deregulated market

Zurich, Switzerland, November 17, 1999 - ABB, the global technology company,
said today it has won orders valued at about $100 million to upgrade Chicago's
transmission and distribution system.  The customer is Chicago-based
Commonwealth Edison (ComED), one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S.

The order calls for ABB to build one large new substation and to carry out major
expansions at four others near downtown Chicago as part of ComEd's efforts to
ensure reliable power delivery before next summer's peak load.  ABB has also
helped guide ComEd's improvements to 20 other substations and the city's
medium-voltage network.  The total project is aimed at ensuring ComEd can
deliver competitive service in the State of Illinois' retail power market, which
was deregulated at the beginning of October this year.

'This project reflects some of the enormous opportunities for ABB as
deregulation and infrastructure renewal continue in the U.S.,' said Goran
Lindahl, ABB's President and CEO.  'Our company has a proven track record of
providing our customers in deregulated markets with the most competitive
solutions.  We're proud to work with ComEd as they break new ground in one of
the world's most dynamic markets.'

As part of the ComEd project, ABB systems engineers are using advanced grid
modeling and simulation techniques, specifically designed for power distribution
systems, to design a network capable of re-routing power around any disturbances
that might occur in the grid and to ensure uninterrupted service to the
company's 3.5 million customers.

Deregulation in power transmission and distribution markets allows consumers -
from industries to homeowners - to choose, for example, from whom they wish to
buy electricity.  ABB supplies technologies that allow deregulated systems to
operate efficiently, such as advanced power distribution systems, intelligent
metering systems, compact and high-efficiency substations, and energy trading
systems.

ABB(http://www.abb.com) is a globalized technology and engineering company
serving customers in power transmission and distribution; automation; oil, gas,
and petrochemicals; industrial products and contracting; and in financial
services.  Power generation customers are served by the joint venture ABB ALSTOM
POWER.  The ABB Group employs about 170,000 people in more than 100 countries.