January 27, 2009—National Grid (LSE:NG.;NYSE:NGG), one of the nation's largest electricity and gas delivery companies, today announced the awarding of new contracts with two joint ventures to help deliver part of its U.S. electricity transmission investment program. The contracts, expected to be finalized by April 1, 2009, will last an initial five years and deliver up to $1.7bn of projects.

The joint ventures are:
• NorthEast Power Alliance (NEPA) – a joint venture between AMEC plc, Michels Corporation and R.G. Vanderweil Engineers
• New Energy Alliance (NEA) – a joint venture between Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. and MJ Electric, LLC., a Quanta Services company (NYSE: PWR)

Masheed Saidi, National Grid’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, U.S. Transmission, said, "These contracts will help us reinforce the backbone of our electricity grid, so we continue to provide safe and reliable service to customers for years to come. Given the magnitude of our investment program, we needed to look at innovative approaches to secure the resources and deliver the program. This approach, as well as increasing the size of our internal team, gives us the resources we need to successfully meet the challenges of delivering our investment efficiently, effectively and safely."

The contracts are part of National Grid’s electricity transmission investment program in New England and New York. The company owns more than 8,600 miles of electricity transmission lines and approximately 1,000 substations in the region. NEPA will design and build substations and transmission lines on National Grid’s network primarily in upstate New York, while NEA will work on the New England infrastructure.

NEPA Chairman, Marc Boulter, commented: "Our NorthEast Power Alliance (NEPA) is extremely proud to have been selected to deliver part of National Grid’s investment program. Our partners have successfully performed in a number of alliance relationships with utility customers globally and we are confident in our ability to provide value to National Grid and its customers. We are united in our commitment to safety, environmental stewardship, quality, collaboration and innovation in fulfilling the electrical infrastructure needs for the residents of New York."

"We look forward to being part of National Grid’s commitment to improving reliable power delivery and strengthening the transmission infrastructure," said Tony Broccolo, Chairman of NEA. "The combined expertise of Quanta Services and Balfour Beatty will provide National Grid the comprehensive engineering and installation services required for a project of this size and scope."

"We are committed to investing in our transmission network and to continue delivering high levels of reliability to our customers. NEA and NEPA will work together with National Grid to share best practice, continually improve performance and make safety and environmental issues central to everything we do," added Saidi.

To deliver the investment, the company is also bringing together most of its transmission project delivery resources into one team, adding internal resources and developing these long-term, collaborative supplier relationships. Marc Mahoney, National Grid’s vice president of Work Delivery, said, "Close collaboration is absolutely vital to these new contracts. We are currently working with NEA and NEPA to finalize the work planning process and contract terms, develop designs and agree on targets for 2009/10."

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers – www.nationalgrid.com.

AMEC (LSE: AMEC) is a focused supplier of high-value consultancy, engineering and project management services to the world's energy, power and process industries. With annual revenues of around US$3.4 billion, AMEC designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex assets for its customers. AMEC's Natural Resources, Power and Process, and Earth and Environmental businesses employ some 23,000 people in more than 30 countries globally. For further information, please see www.amec.com.

R.G. Vanderweil Engineers, LLP, specialize in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems engineering and construction/commissioning support for buildings, central heating and chiller plants, power generation, and transmission and distribution projects. Based in Boston, the 400-employee firm also has offices in Las Vegas, New York, Philadelphia, Princeton and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.vanderweil.com.

Michel’s Corporation is a diversified utility, engineering, design and construction contractor with critical expertise in linking systems for energy, communications, transportation and distribution. For more information, visit www.michels.us/michels-us.

M.J. Electric and Quanta Services: Founded in 1959, M. J. Electric, LLC., a Quanta Services company, specializes in electrical construction and maintenance. Quanta is a leading specialized contracting services company delivering infrastructure network solutions for the electric power, natural gas, telecommunications and cable television industries. The company’s comprehensive services include designing, installing, repairing and maintaining network infrastructure nationwide. With operations throughout North America, Quanta has the manpower, resources and expertise to complete projects that are local, regional, national or international in scope. More information can be found at www.quantaservices.com.

Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business, well-positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant long-term growth. We work in partnership with sophisticated customers who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise. Our skills are applied in appropriate combinations to meet individual customer needs. Balfour Beatty’s businesses in the United States include Balfour Beatty Construction US, Balfour Beatty Communities, Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. and Heery. For more information, visit www.balfourbeatty.com.