ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2002
Further expanding its presence in the Latin American energy market, GE Power Systems has acquired full ownership of a GE-AES Gener SA joint venture based in Santiago, Chile which offers a broad range of services for power plants.
The joint venture, Servicios Integrales de Generacion de Energia Electrica SA, (SIGEN), formerly was owned 60% by GE and 40% by AES Gener SA. SIGEN now will be totally integrated into GE Power Systems' energy services business.
"As many Latin American countries move through various stages of privatization, the energy requirements of the region are diverse and rapidly changing," said Ricardo Artigas, president and CEO of GE Energy Services. "The acquisition of SIGEN will enhance our capabilities to serve power plant owners and operators in this dynamic market, and help them gain maximum productivity from their power generating facilities."
The SIGEN joint venture was initially formed in 1998 by GE and Gener SA of Santiago, which owns power plants in Chile. Gener was purchased by AES Corp. in 2001. The first contract acquired by the joint venture was an operation and maintenance agreement for a 370-megawatt power plant in the Renca section of Santiago. Featuring a GE MS9001FA gas turbine, this plant was the first natural gas-fired, combined-cycle plant in Chile.
GE Energy Services develops extended, mutually beneficial relationships with customers, including both multi-year parts and services agreements and total operation and maintenance agreements. GE currently has contractual service agreements in place at 384 customer sites in 40 countries.
About GE Power Systems
GE Power Systems (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services and management systems with 2001 revenues exceeding $20 billion. The company has the largest installed base of power generation equipment in the global energy industry. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Power Systems provides equipment, services and management solutions for the power generation, oil and gas, distributed power and energy rental industries.