Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. said yesterday it has receivedmore than $2.2 billion in orders for power generation equipment andservices in the U.S. during the first three quarters of its fiscalyear, which began on Oct. 1, 1998. Orders have been received fromboth merchant plants and rate-based power producers from nearlyevery geographic region in the country and the orders have beenrelatively evenly dispersed throughout the country, a spokesmansaid.

In total, the company currently has orders for 32 gas-firedpower turbines for 19 power facilities. The equipment ordered willbe used to generate a total of more than 7,000 MW of power, andSiemens expects the strong demand to continue.

“The demand for new generation in the U.S. market has increaseddramatically over the past year due to pent-up demand from years ofadditions at a rate less than the increase in peak demand forelectricity,” said CEO Randy Zwirn. “With uncertainties aboutderegulation being reduced, power producers are actively planningand implementing new projects. These orders strengthen SiemensWestinghouse’s already significant position in the Americas’ powergeneration market and demonstrate customer confidence in ourleadership in providing highly efficient, reliable power generationproducts and services.”

Spokesman Michael J. Asquino said buyers basically are lining upat the door. “We have back orders until late 2002.

“We think this will go on for the next several years, probablynot as strong as it has been but it certainly is going to be a goodmarket.”

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