GE, State of Kentucky, Louisville and GE`s Union Partner to Create New Jobs, Energy-Efficient Products

First U.S. Manufactured ENERGY STAR Qualified Water Heater Will Be Made in
Kentucky Creating 400 New "Green Collar" Jobs
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(Business Wire)--
GE`s (NYSE:GE) Consumer & Industrial division announced today that it will
manufacture highly energy efficient hybrid electric water heaters in Louisville,
Kentucky, at the Company`s Appliance Park facility - creating about 400 jobs.
The new hybrid patented technology will make GE the first manufacturer to
introduce a water heater that will meet the new 2009 Department of Energy ENERGY
STAR standards for heat pump hot water heaters, putting GE well ahead of the
competition.

The decision to locate production of this leadership product in Louisville came
as a result of cooperative efforts, investments and incentives involving GE, the
IUE-CWA, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Louisville Metro government. GE`s
planned manufacturing facility also has a potential to create 1,600 incremental
"green" jobs over time for suppliers and contract partners and generate other
positive financial impacts in Louisville and nationwide.

"We made the decision to build these products in Louisville because of the
strong support from our state and local governments and the cooperative spirit
of our Union leadership and our employees at Appliance Park. This clearly
indicates GE`s vote of confidence in this facility and our employees as a place
where we can invest in our future, continuing our 50+ year history," said GE
Consumer & Industrial President and CEO James Campbell. "Leadership from
Governor Steve Beshear, Mayor Jerry Abramson, IUE-CWA President Jerry Carney and
many others will help rebuild America`s manufacturing base, create jobs and
enable innovative, energy-efficient American-made products to be competitive in
the marketplace."

Up to $17 million in incentives from the state and metro government will be made
available for the design and construction of the new energy-efficient hybrid
electric water heater and for several other investments that the Company will
make at Appliance Park over the next several years, which will total over $69
million. The state incentives, which were approved by the Kentucky Economic
Development Finance Authority on May 28, 2009, will be provided under the
Kentucky Industrial Development Act (KIDA). Kentucky also will provide funds to
train employees for the new jobs and will exempt from sales tax certain
materials purchased to construct new facilities. And in Louisville, the Metro
Council has approved an ordinance proposed by Mayor Jerry Abramson that will
provide the city`s portion of the incentive package.

"We understood that GE had other U.S. locations where the company could make the
new hybrid water heater," said Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear. "But the company
- like others around the country - knew that Kentucky has made energy-related
development one of our highest priorities. The nation`s energy needs are
growing, yet it wants that energy to be clean and green. In Kentucky we see that
as an economic opportunity."

Producing the hybrid electric water heater in Louisville, starting in the second
half of 2011, was also made possible by a May 27 vote by GE`s local IUE-CWA
union membership that demonstrated a spirit of cooperation and lowered labor
costs to the level GE needed to competitively produce its new innovative water
heater. The union and employees approved a wage freeze until the current labor
contract ends in 2011 and the implementation of new wage rates for new hires,
making the facility more competitive and attractive than other manufacturing
locations that were under consideration.

"The union leadership realized we were at the brink of a major, life-altering
decision for our employees and the business." said Local IUE-CWA President Jerry
Carney. "Decisions like these are not easy to make but as you look around the
country, you can see that employees who make the right choices to compete in
this global economy, win. I am proud of the IUE Local 761`s membership. GE and
the IUE at Appliance Park are a winning team."

"GE has been a vital part of Louisville's economy for decades," added Louisville
Mayor Jerry Abramson. "We appreciate the changes that have been made at
Appliance Park not only to keep jobs here, but also to add jobs. We will
continue to work with the GE leadership team to help ensure the long-term future
of Appliance Park."

Customers Showing Early Interest:

The new hybrid electric water heater has already received tremendous interest
from utility companies, and agencies that administer federal and state
weatherization programs, which will become new customers for the innovative
products. Conventional water heaters are the second largest energy user in the
home and all home appliances make up about 85% of the home`s energy consumption.
Utilities report that by providing their customers with super-efficient water
heaters the utilities can better manage energy deployment and potential future
power generation requirements. Some of GE`s new utility customers include:
Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corporation Little Rock AR, PPL Electric
Utilities Allentown PA, Gordon Williams Corporation Ontario Canada,
NeighborWorks® America, Community Housing Partners Corporation Christianburg VA,
New Directions Housing Corporation Louisville KY, and Frontier Housing Morehead
KY.

About the GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater:

The new industry-exclusive GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is designed to
provide hot water in the quantities homeowners demand but uses only about half
the energy of conventional water heaters to produce it. Based on the standard
50-gallon tank water heater that uses approximately 4800 kWh per year, the new
GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is designed to:

* Use less than half of that energy - or about 2300 kWh per year - a savings of
approximately 2500 kWh per year.
* Save approximately $250 per year - that's $2,500 savings in energy costs over
a 10-year period based on 10 cents per kWh.

According to the DOE (http://www.energystar.gov/), if just 10% of the nation`s
4.8 million electric water heater shipments were heat pump water heaters with an
Energy Factor of 2.0 instead of conventional models with an Energy Factor at the
Federal standard, the aggregate energy savings would amount to nearly 1.3
billion kWh per year.

The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater combines energy-saving heat-pump technology
with traditional electric heating systems used in most conventional water
heaters on the market today, without sacrificing the amount of hot water it can
deliver.

This hybrid technology is designed to absorb heat in ambient air and transfer it
into the water. Since this requires much less energy than the energy used to
generate radiant heat - as used in a conventional electric water heater - the GE
Hybrid Electric Water Heater is more economical to operate.

Federal and state tax credits for purchasing the energy efficient water heater
may also be available to benefit consumers.

To view a video on how the hybrid electric water heater works view:
http://www.geconsumerandindustrial.com/videos/GE_Hybrid_Water_Heater.wmv

GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major
appliances, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services.
Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than
100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies and
ecomaginationSM, a GE initiative to aggressively bring to market new
technologies that help customers and consumers meet pressing environmental
challenges, to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and
control. General Electric (NYSE: GE), imagination at work, sells products under
the Monogram, Profile, GE, Hotpoint, SmartWater, Reveal and Energy Smart
consumer brands, and Entellisys, Tetra, Vio and Immersion commercial brands. For
more information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

For high-resolution photography visit: www.gecipressroom.com

GE Consumer & Industrial
Kim Freeman, 502-452-7819
kim_freeman@ge.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009