Sweden. Vattenfall Treasury AB

NIB has subscribed two euro medium-term notes issued by the electricity producer Vattenfall. The deal totals SEK 200 million (EUR 21 million) and is divided into two parts: SEK 100 million with a 10-year maturity and SEK 100 million with a 12-year maturity. The proceeds from the deal will be used to finance the upgrade of Vattenfall’s hydropower plants in 2006-2013. A major part of the task involves reducing the environmental impact of Vattenfall’s operations and utilising water resources more efficiently. The investments are mainly focused on the replacement of turbines, generators and transformers. The annual capacity for electricity generation will be increased by 186 GWh. An environmental benefit of the project is that the new turbines, which do not require hydraulic fluids for lubrication, will replace older types that hold hundreds of litres of environmentally hazardous hydraulic oils with the potential for leakage. Vattenfall is also investing in new cables and other infrastructure with neutral or minimal environmental benefits. Vattenfall operates more than 100 power plants in the Nordic countries, mostly in Sweden, with a total generation capacity of 33 TWh a year.

Vattenfall’s investment programme focused on the replacement of turbines, generators and transformers will improve the efficient use of the existing power stations. The programme will increase the capacity for electricity generation and eliminate the use of hazardous hydraulic fluids for lubrication.