General Electric gets $1 billion Saudi order for gas turbines

General Electric Co signed a contract to supply nearly $1 billion worth of gas-fired electric turbines to the Saudi Electricity Co.

The contract covers 30 Frame 7EA gas turbines for the Saudi Electricity Co.'s Riyadh Power Plant 10, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE said in a statement today. The first of the turbines will begin service next year with the order completed by 2011.

The Saudi agreement was booked in December 2008 and brings GE's orders from the customer to almost $2.5 billion in the last three years. It will add 2,000 megawatts of power to help address summer energy shortages. When completed, it will increase the power capacity in Saudi Electricity Co.'s Central Operating Area by 20 per cent from its total current output of 10,000 megawatts. A one-megawatt plant running continuously at full capacity can power 778 households each year, according to the US Department of Energy.

The deal follows a $3 billion December accord to supply 56 gas turbines to Iraq. GE Energy is benefiting from increased power demand in the Middle East. The company said on 23 January that it sold about 188 gas turbines in 2008 and may sell about 185 this year. GE's Energy Infrastructure business is currently its best-performing unit, with CFO Keith Sherin on Tuesday telling investors the company feels "pretty good" about the division's "tremendous order backlog."

Shares rose 13 cents to $11.75 in pre-market trading.