18 June 2009 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has secured a $52m order from Spanish technology company Abengoa to supply transformers and shunt reactors for projects to interconnect the grids in Brazil's northern and southern regions.

ABB's equipment will serve three projects under construction for Manaus Transmissora de Energia, one of Brazil's leading energy transmission companies:
a 374-kilometer extension of the 500 kilovolt Oriximina-Itacoatiara transmission line in the states of Para and Amazonas; a 212-km extension of the Itacoatiara-Cariri 500 kV transmission line in the state of Amazonas, which includes the 500/230 kV Cariri substation; an expansion of the 500 kV Ribeiro Goncalves-Balsas transmission system and the 230 kV Balsas substation in the north-eastern states of Piaui and Maranhao.

The installations are located in challenging terrains, such as forests, accentuating the need for highly reliable equipment with minimal service needs.

"These interconnections will facilitate power transfers across Brazil's regions and augment the transmission network," said Bernhard Jucker, head of ABB's Power Products division. "We are pleased to be able to contribute to the strengthening of the country's power infrastructure."