ABB said has won contracts worth $50 million for two projects to enlarge and strengthen the transmission and distribution network in different parts of Mexico. The contracts were awarded by Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), the Mexican state-owned utility. CFE generates, transmits and distributes electrical power to about 23.7 million industrial and household clients in Mexico.

Our technology will help to ensure a reliable power supply to regions throughout Mexico," said Bernhard Jucker, head of ABB's Power Products division. "Our globally integrated engineering and production network makes us well positioned to take on projects of this scope, offering an important customer a complete package of technology and project-management expertise."

One project will involve ABB assembling and installing six 400-kV air-insulated substations and other high-voltage equipment in the northern and south-eastern states of Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Coahuila, Veracruz and Zacatecas. The project is expected to be completed by April 2008.

For the other project, ABB will supply 115-kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) to a substation in the state of Oaxaca. An accelerated process will ensure that the substation is completed in 13 months.

The project also includes the construction and installation of power reactors at 1.8 MVA and a 30-km extension to a 115-kV transmission line. Equipment and components for both projects will be provided by ABB factories in Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Sweden and Switzerland.

ABB has a long history of supplying high-voltage technology to customers in Mexico. Currently, ABB is working on contracts worth more than $250 million with CFE and PEMEX, Mexico's national oil company.