NEW YORK and ABU DHABI (Reuters) - One of General Electric Co’s (GE.N) largest and most valuable customers, Saudi Arabia, is lining up competitors to bid against GE for lucrative power plant work, according to five people familiar with the situation. State-controlled Saudi Electricity Co 5110.SE has qualified at least two companies to provide service or parts for some of its more than 50 GE-made F-class turbines, and it is in talks with two others over investments to set up facilities to service the plants over many years, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. These approvals for the first time put Saudi Electricity in a position to break GE’s hold on that work by having others bid against GE on maintaining the F-Class fleet - among the largest owned by a single entity and among the most lucrative service portfolios in the industry - when the existing contracts come up, according to the sources and industry databases. Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) has not yet offered any substantial F-Class contracts to new bidders, and it is unclear how soon it intends to seek bids, according to sources familiar with the matter. In response to questions from Reuters, GE said: “At present, GE’s F-class units in SEC continue to be covered under long-term service agreements.” Saudi Electricity initially declined to comment.
FILE PHOTO: The General Electric logo is pictured on working helmets during a visit at the General Electric offshore wind turbine plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
In a joint statement to Reuters on Sunday after Reuters published, the companies stressed they have been partners on power generation for nearly 40 years. “SEC has always embarked on a very balanced policy of procurement to ensure well diversified
