ENDESA Connects the Third Transformed Group of the As Pontes Thermal Plant to the Grid

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ENDESA’s (NYSE:ELE) thermal plant in As Pontes now has a more efficient and environmentally-friendly production. This was made possible via transformation of the plant’s third group to consume only imported coal. This group was connected to the electricity grid today.

At As Pontes, ENDESA is carrying out a programme to extend the life of its coal-fired thermal plant, which was built in the 70s and upgraded in the 90s. It is the largest thermal power production unit in Spain, with installed capacity of 1,400 MW, enough to cover around 5% of Spain’s power electricity demand. This illustrates the importance of the programme.

This is the third of the plant's four production units to be reformed. The entire transformation requires an investment of Euro 275 million. The funds will go not only to As Pontes, but also to build a new port terminal in Ferrol. This city’s outside dock will receive the five million tonnes of Indonesian coal consumed by the plant, which is then shipped by road.

The transformation consists of adapting the thermal plant so that it uses only imported coal instead of a mixture of local lignite and sub-bituminous coal. To do so, many parts of the boiler and the turbine are replaced and a general upgrade of the plant is carried out.

As a result of this there will be a substantial reduction in gas emissions into the atmosphere, reducing CO2 emissions by more than one million tpy (tonnes per year) and the amount of ash produced by 1,700,000 tpy. It will also lower emissions of SO2 by 95.5%, NOx by 16.5% and particles by 54.5%. Moreover, the unavailability index will improve, while operating and maintenance costs will fall.

The upgrade undertaken by ENDESA at As Pontes is a tailor-made solution, adapted to the particularities of the plant. Despite difficulties the process entails, the experience built up with the transformation of the first two groups has enabled the company to reduce the amount of time allotted for the work by 10 days. In all, the operation requires around 750,000 man hours, with up to a thousand external workers taking part in certain stages.

Only one group is left to transform. This will start in January, once the lignite mine is shut down. Some 260 million tonnes of lignite have been extracted, but this type of coal poses environmental problems and offers lower heating value. It has, however, made a huge contribution to the Spanish economy by avoiding a large volume of fuel imports.

The project should help keep Spain’s power generation assets appropriately diversified. Also, extending the working life of the As Pontes plant by another 25 years represents a significant contribution to energy security. The upgrade of the As Pontes plant forms part of ENDESA's 2004-2009 Capacity Plan, which includes 12,400 MW of additional capacity in Spain and Portugal (based largely on new CCGTs), new facilities for renewable energies and an increase in installed capacity in the non-mainland systems, as well as the conversion to imported coal at this plant. Precisely in As Pontes, ENDESA is near completing the construction of a natural gas-fired CCGT, with installed capacity of 800 MW.

* This document may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding anticipated financial and operating results and statistics that are subject to risks and uncertainties as well as to material risks, changes and other factors which may be difficult to predict, including, without limitation, those factors described in the Documento de Registro de Acciones of Endesa filed within the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores and in the Form 20-F of Endesa filed within the Securities and Exchange Commission, both for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. For all of these forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbour for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.