Re Contract

ABB Ltd
30 May 2002

ABB wins US$ 41 million in orders for Venezuelan substation and transmission
lines

Connection will increase country's power supply by more than ten percent

Zurich, Switzerland, May 30, 2002 - ABB, the global power and automation
technology group, said today it has won three contracts worth US$ 41 million in
Venezuela to provide a power transmission system that will extend the country's
power system and increase its power supply by more than ten percent.

The contracts, signed with state-owned power company CVG Electrificacion del
Caroni, C.A. (EDELCA), are to design and build a 400 kilovolt substation and
four related 400 kilovolt transmission lines that will connect the 2,160
megawatt Caruachi hydroelectric power plant with the country's transmission
network.

The project scope includes all high-voltage equipment, associated switchyard
equipment and computerized protection and control equipment. ABB is also
responsible for all electrical and mechanical design for the substation and
civil work, erection and commissioning for both contracts. The total project is
scheduled for completion in March 2004.

ABB delivered three similar substations and transmission lines to EDELCA as part
of the interconnection between Venezuela and Brazil, which went online in 2001.
'ABB's experience throughout the region, and prior work with EDELCA, will help
ensure the timely completion of a project that responds to Venezuela's growing
demand for electricity, ' said Richard Siudek, executive vice president and head
of ABB Utilities division.

When fully complete in 2006, the power plant at Caruachi will be capable of
producing approximately 12,000 gigawatthours annually, boosting Venezuela's
total generating capacity by around 11 percent.

These are ABB's second major orders from state-owned power companies in
Venezuela in the past six months. In December 2001 ABB won a US$ 28 million
order from ENELVEN to install high technology systems to boost the capacity of
five existing transmission lines serving the country's Maracaibo region.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a global leader in power and automation technologies that
enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering
environmental impact. ABB has 152,000 employees in more than 100 countries.



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