Partial discharge (PD) measurement is a crucial procedure for assessing an electrical system's condition.

Milan, 10 February 2012 - Prysmian Group, world leader in energy and telecom cables and systems,

launches an innovative, exclusive technology for measuring partial discharges in electrical cables,
accessories and equipment.

Partial discharge (PD) measurement is a crucial procedure for assessing an electrical system's
condition, as it is one of the critical parameters evaluated during product manufacture, installation
and after-sales. Partial discharge measurement, which is typically carried out by specialists using
traditional technology, requires the customer to switch off the electrical system, connect it to the
test equipment and conduct the diagnostics. This procedure leaves the system idle for several hours
during each test.Instead, the new wireless technology-based system allows measurements to be made without any
contact, meaning that the electrical system does not have to be switched off, thus making the
testing process significantly faster.

This innovation allows the Group to explore new opportunities, since it makes it possible to extend
PD measurements to voltage classes which were previously not tested, such as the medium voltage
distribution network. PD measurements for both high and medium voltage networks can now be
performed on a continuous basis at substations, wind or solar farms, cruise ships etc. The possibility
of monitoring systems without service interruption now makes it possible to carry out preventive
maintenance in order to detect potential issues and prevent failures.

"This service confirms the Group's leadership in innovation, guaranteeing an improvement in the
services offered" states Agusti Valls y Prats, Prysmian Group R&D Director. "We have already tested
the new product with some of our leading customers in Italy, Spain, Argentina and Canada and have
received very positive feedback in terms of test results accuracy and speed of execution. For
example it was possible to measure partial discharges of more than 60 wind farm towers in Sardinia
in record time."

Prysmian Electronics S.r.l. is in charge of new technology development and implementation; this
Group subsidiary will be supported by the expertise of the corporate R&D function and it will focus
on exploring new Smart Grid related applications for measuring other parameters such as:
temperature, voltage, current leakages, current intensity etc. that are critical for controlling the
state of grid operation.

Prysmian Group
Prysmian Group is world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry. With sales of some €7 billion (proforma
2010 Prysmian/Draka), 22,000 employees across 50 countries and 98 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in hightech
markets and provides the widest range of products, services, technologies and know-how. In the Energy sector,
Prysmian Group operates in the business of underground and submarine power transmission cables and systems, special
cables for applications in many different industrial sectors and medium and low voltage cables for the construction and
infrastructure industry. In the Telecom sector, the Group manufactures cables and accessories for the voice, video and data
transmission industry, offering a complete range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems.
Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.