New investment in Warsaw by RWE Stoen Operator

• State-of-the-art high voltage substation will provide electricity to new housing estates of rapidly growing Wilanow district of Warsaw
• Investments in development of the electricity network in 2009 will amount to PLN 175 million, and plans for the coming years assume similar level of investments
• The development of RWE Stoen Operator electricity network is based on the Capital’s development plans prepared by the Warsaw City Hall and in-house research and development work

The “Wilanow” high voltage substation is the latest power facility in Warsaw. Built in 12 months at a cost of PLN 30 million, it will be put on stream on December 10^th. This unmanned substation was built by RWE Stoen Operator using the latest technologies, so – despite its high significance to Warsaw electricity network – it is small in size.

The investment along with 6 kilometres long high voltage cable lines and the medium voltage buried cables is located at Przyczolkowa street nearby a planned expressway. The substation converts high voltage to medium voltage (110kV down to 15kV) providing energy supply to new housing blocks and single family houses in the area of Wilanow and neighbouring areas, down to the southern border of the city. This latest RWE Stoen Operator substation will be able to supply energy to around 70 thousand dwellings.

“Many local inhabitants who passed the construction site right next to the cycle path leading to Konstancin suburb were curious about our investment” –said Artur Stawiarski, Director
of asset management at RWE Stoen Operator. “They were intrigued by the modern and unusual look of the building being constructed in the green fields of Wilanow, where housing estates are being built at astonishing pace” – added Artur Stawiarski. Architects designed the building so that it is harmonised with the size and appearance of buildings to be erected in its surroundings in accordance to the zoning regulations. Its façade is made of graphite coloured durable enamelled aluminium sheets.

The facility is packed with electronics that guarantees automated control and allows for compact size of the building. It was possible thanks to the use of modern gas-insulated switchgear. It utilises the insulating properties of sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) that allowed radical reduction of substation’s footprint - had it been equipped with traditional air-insulated switchgear its size would have to be several times bigger. Using this technology and enclosing the transformers within the building also silences operation of its equipment, so from outside practically no sound will be heard.
The new substation does not require permanent on-site staff presence as it uses telemechanics allowing remote control of all switches from the power dispatch position that manages the entire electrical network of Warsaw. This significantly improves the reliability of capital’s network. The new facility of RWE Stoen Operator opened today in Wilanów will provide access to electricity not only to existing residents of the district, but also to future building developments. First customers were already connected to the new substation.

“Requirements related to energy supply security in Warsaw are increasing constantly. This results in the need to systematically expand the electricity network at all voltage levels in the town and its suburbs. Warsaw electricity network is being modernised all the time, between 2002 and 2009 RWE Stoen Operator has spent over one billion PLN on development and modernisation of the power infrastructure. Just in 2009 alone RWE Stoen Operator will invest in total PLN 175 million in Warsaw, among others in new transformers, in expansion of the ‘Krakowska’ distribution substation and modernisation of the Sielce-Powisle power line and of course the Wilanow substation”. –comments Robert Stelmaszczyk, President of RWE Stoen Operator. “Our company is also planning further series of investments, including: construction of cable route between Mory – Krakowska – Poludniowa and cable line linking Powisle – Muranow – Centrum. We are paying particular attention to the work on the ‘Stadion’ high voltage substation and 110 kV cable lines to supply electricity to the National Stadium being built for the EURO 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. The latter line requires an over half-kilometre long horizontal drill-through under the bed of Vistula river” – added Robert Stelmaszczyk, President of RWE Stoen Operator.

Most of the Warsaw electricity network is underground, so it is more immune to faults caused by e.g. strong winds or precipitations. RWE’s network in Warsaw, according to the Energy Market Agency, is among the most reliable in Poland.

RWE Stoen Operator also continually invests in improving customer service levels. Since around a fortnight a modernised Distribution Customer Service Centre (COK) is in operation, developed in particular for new customers of RWE Stoen Operator who are planning to connect their homes or other buildings to the network. At the Distribution COK located at 18 Rudzka street in Warsaw, customers can obtain the necessary information, forms, and deal with all the legal formalities.

An additional tool facilitating contact with RWE Stoen Operator is its website dedicated to all customers still at the planning phase for their electricity network connection, or actually building the connection. The new functionality of the www.rwestoenoperator.pl website allows on-line monitoring of progress of work. After logging in, every customer can individually view the status of his or her connection. Therefore the entire process, commencing with filling in the application and enclosing the required documents, through application submission and reception of terms and conditions for connection, up to its construction, can be followed online at any time. Moreover, as the procedure is progressing, completion of its stages is reported to customers with SMS or email.

Additional information:
A report published in 2009 by the Energy Market Agency once again, for another year in a row, shows that the reliability of the electrical network of Warsaw managed by RWE Stoen Operator is significantly higher than Polish nationwide average.

• Low voltage cable fault repair time in 2008 was two times shorter than the average (RWE Stoen Operator 1.39h versus 2.96h Poland nationwide)
• Medium voltage cable fault repair time almost three times shorter (RWE Stoen Operator 0.94h versus 2.34h Poland nationwide)

For more information about the investments in Wilanów andRWE Stoen Operator please visit www.rwestoenoperator.pl

RWE is among the five leading utilities in Europe.It specialises in generation, transmission, distribution and sales of electricity and gas. RWE employs 66 thousand people, supplies 14 million customers with electricity and 6 million with gas. RWE is the largest energy producer in Germany and number three in the UK. It is also present in Central Europe, operating not only in Poland, but also in Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Hungary.

The largest RWE owned companies in Poland are RWE Polska – responsible for supporting RWE’s development in Poland, selling energy to around 900 thousand customers, and RWE Stoen Operator company that operates the Warsaw electricity network. RWE is planning to build state-of-the-art low emission hard-coal fired 800 MW power station by 2015 in Silesia and commissioning 300 MW of generating capacities from wind farms built in Mazurian, Pomeranian and Greater Poland districts. In view of all already implemented and planned investments, RWE becomes one of the major foreign investors in Poland.

Additonal information:
Iwona Jarzębska
+ 48 22 821 41 30
Iwona.Jarzebska@rwe.pl

Karolina Tyniec-Margańska
48 22 821 41 36
Karolina.Tyniec-Marganska@rwe.pl