HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill today that is aimed at persuading Westinghouse Electric Co. to stay and expand in Pennsylvania by locating its new engineering campus, with at least 1,500 additional employees, in one of three southwestern Pennsylvania sites.

Flanked at a news conference by state Sen. Sean Logan, D-Monroeville, and Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, Mr. Rendell noted that other states, especially North Carolina and South Carolina, are trying to woo Westinghouse out of Pennsylvania and said the new incentives in the bill could help keep it here.

"Westinghouse has not yet made a decision to stay in Pennsylvania, but we believe this (tax abatement bill) will increase the strong likelihood that Westinghouse will stay in Western Pennsylvania and add jobs,'' Mr. Rendell said.

No decision has been made yet on where Westinghouse will expand, said company spokesman Vaughn Gilbert, "but the governor and other elected officials, including [Allegheny County Chief Executive] Dan Onorato, have been highly supportive of our effort. We're in a growth business.''

A site somewhere near Charlotte, N.C., is the leading competitor to Western Pennsylvania, and Mr. Gilbert said an announcement is likely by the end of the year on where the new engineering campus will go. Observers believe the new bill and its incentives could clinch the deal for this region.

Mr. Turzai said three sites in the Pittsburgh area are under consideration for the Westinghouse expansion, which is needed because of expected growth in nuclear reactor orders, both domestically and possibly in China. One site is at the current headquarters in Monroeville, with others being at the Tech 21 industrial park in Marshall and at Cranberry Woods, in Butler County.

Mr. Logan said the Westinghouse expansion project is important because it involves well-paying jobs (up to $100,000 or so a year) that require technical, administrative and engineering expertise.

Mr. Gilbert said the company hired 800 new people last year and will hire 900 more this year. He also expects a minimum of 500 new workers in succeeding years, because of growing need for nuclear power and because a number of workers are ready for retirement.

The sale of Westinghouse, a former conglomerate whose nuclear power technology is used in half of the world's operating nuclear power plants, from British Nuclear Fuels PLC to Japanese electronics giant Toshiba was completed in October. Westinghouse has about 3,000 workers in the Pittsburgh area and 9,000 worldwide.

The bill signed by Mr. Rendell yesterday will create up to four "Strategic Development Areas'' around the state, where the state will give a 15-year abatement on sales taxes, corporate net incomes taxes and the corporate stock and franchise tax to larger companies willing to stay in the state.