Hydro-Quebec Partners with Snc-Lavalin in Australia Project

MONTREAL -- Hydro-Quebec International and SNC- Lavalin have announced that they are partnering in the Murraylink project in Australia. Hydro-Quebec and SNC-Lavalin each have a 50% equity interest. THE MURRAYLINK PROJECT Murraylink, the second project of this type in Australia, involves building a 180-kilometre interconnection linking the grids of the states of Victoria and South Australia, along with two converter stations. The 200?MW transmission capacity will be made available on the Australian energy market in order to take advantage of the differential in Australian wholesale prices. The project makes use of ABB's HVDC Light transmission technology. This technology was previously applied by Hydro-Quebec in an underwater interconnection between Long Island, N.Y., and Connecticut and in the Directlink project in Australia linking the states of New South Wales and Queensland. SNC-Lavalin and TransEnergie, Hydro-Quebec's transmission division, will oversee project construction. ABB Transmission and Distribution Pty Ltd. has been awarded a turnkey contract for project construction, and will also supply the necessary technology. This project is an opportunity to make the most of Hydro-Quebec's internationally recognized transmission expertise, as well as that of SNC- Lavalin, a world leader in engineering, construction and management of energy infrastructures. FOR AN OUTLINE OF THE MURRAYLINK PROJECT http://www.hydroquebec-media.com FOR FURTHER DETAILS ON THE PROJECT PARTNERS, VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB SITES:

Hydro-Quebec www.hydroquebec.com and SNC-Lavalin www.snc-lavalin.com.