Energize special issue:  AMEU Proceedings
  
e-Newsletter for the power and energy sectors of southern Africa  December 2012
Keynote address at the AMEU Convention 2012
by Dipuo Peters, minister of energy

 

Dipuo Peters The important role that the AMEU is playing, not only in keeping the lights on at municipal level, but also as a professional association operating at different levels within the electricity distribution industry, is recognised and valued. This role ranges from fulfilling technical responsibilities and also a resource base for influencing national standards, policies and strategies... (more)

Opening speech by AMEU president at the AMEU Convention 2012
by Michael J Rhode, AMEU president

 

Michael RhodeWe again have a record number of delegates (650 to be exact), the most exhibition stands ever and a record number of foreign guests. This tells us that the AMEU remains a relevant association even in today's tough times. "Smart" is of course the latest buzz word in the industry internationally and so we themed this convention "Solutions for a smart industry"... (more)

Incoming president's address at the AMEU Convention 2012
by Hannes Roos, incoming president of the AMEU


Hannes Roos Allow me to remind you that it was our predecessors who had the vision to establish our association way back in 1915 because they believed that it was necessary "to promote the interests of Municipal Electricity Undertakings"... (more)

Honorary membership awards at the AMEU Convention 2012
at the 2012 AMEU Convention

 

Awards were presented to Jorge Pereira, Paul Johnson, Ferdinand Diener, Michael Rhode, Louis Steyn, Roy Wienand and Stephen Delport... (more)

Merit award at the AMEU Convention 2012
at the 2012 AMEU Convention


A merit award was presented to Stephen Delport. In all, Stephen has had more than 33 years of extensive experience of electrical distribution networks at voltages from 400/230 V to 132 kV. Stephen has been a staunch supporter of the AMEU Highveld Branch, serving as its secretary from 2002 to 2004 and as its chairman for the 2005 to 2006 period... (more)

Smart grid evolution through microgrid aggregation in Africa
by Dr. Wajdi Ahmad and Dr. Lana El Chaar, GE Energy

 

Smart grid vision integrates a whole host of software and hardware solutions with the aim of modernising the power grid across its entire value chain. This comprises solutions that aim to optimise the process of energy delivery and utilisation... (more)

Innovative approach to an ICT infrastructure supporting smart grids and smart metering
by Paul Renshall, Mott MacDonald 

Power utilities across the world have recognised that a key enabler for the successful implementation of their smart grid and smart metering projects is gaining a higher level of intelligence and information from the power network, something which can only be achieved through the massive growth in the use of ICT systems and services... (more)
ZigBee as a technology platform for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)
by James Calmeyer, Strike Technologies


According to NRS049-1 (rev.1, 2010) for advanced metering infrastructure, the communications medium that connects devices in the system downstream of the data concentrator can either be power-line carrier (PLC) or wireless radio frequency (RF)... (more)

Mobile technology for infield data collections and electronic works orders
by JH G�tze, Motla Metering

Mobile technology has taken the world by storm and is developing further every day. The capability of transferring data over GSM networks at a relatively low cost has also revolutionised the world even more than the industrial age and there is no end to the possibilities yet... (more)
Half-cycle circuit breaker for rural smart grids minimises operating costs of feeder, spur lines
by Dr. Brett Watson, Dirk Scheerer, and Benjamin Gischke, Siemens 

Rural electricity distribution is less reliable and more expensive to operate than urban networks and generates less revenue. Long overhead line lengths, inherent high fault frequency and the often considerable time taken to find and access faults result in long outage durations, poor regulatory performance and, often, financial penalties... (more)
Impact of efficiency measures and distributed generation on municipal electricity revenue
by A Janisch, M Borchers and M Euston-Brown, Sustainable Energy Africa

A range of national and local policies and strategies promote energy efficiency and renewable energy in response to the electricity crisis and national climate change commitments. This trend is not only local, but global... (more)
Simulation studies required for renewable energy integration  
by Vimeshan Pillay, Geeven V Moodley and Dr. Glenn D Jennings, Digsilent Buyisa

Renewable energy (RE) facilities need to conduct compliance studies, in order to prove that their facility has the necessary capability in order to meet the currently published grid code, as well as to ensure that the farm does not contravene the existing NRS and other published standards... (more)
Demystifying the smart grid 
by Stuart Michie, ABB

The principles of the technology of today's power grids have not changed significantly in the past 100 years. Electricity is a product that has to be generated at the time of need. The level of power generation is set to match the instantaneous demand. With the constraints in power resources, this has to change, hence the development of the smart grid... (more)
When is smart metering really smart?
by Kobus van den Berg, Aurecon 
 
Smart metering (SM) systems are rolled out at a high rate internationally for various reasons. It is however true that SM as a component of smart grids will play a significant role in the electricity distribution industry to enhance energy efficiency and support revenue management... (more)
Technology deployment as a smarter industry enabler
by Dr. Willie de Beer, SANEDI 
 
The South African electricity distribution industry is confronted by numerous and significant challenges. While the distribution grid served the country well in many aspects, the electricity grid is ageing, outmoded, and stressed... (more)
Smart grid solutions for transformer monitoring and diagnostics
by Dr. Wajdi Ahmad, GE Digital Energy

Transformers form an integral part of the power system value chain. They are used at different voltage levels throughout the power delivery process, starting from step-up operation at the generation power plant and going through various step-down operations to different voltage levels along the way down to distribution voltage levels... (more)
Domestic time of use tariff determination
by Hendrik Barnard, Elexpert

Government Gazette 31250 requires that smart meters be installed for all customers consuming more than 1000 kWh/month by 1 January 2012. Many municipalities have installed such meters and implemented TOU tariffs. Many of these tariffs leave much to be desired... (more)
Building a real smart solution
by Tom Phillips, Conlog 

Many countries are still coming to terms with the sudden and debilitating financial crisis of 2008. Some governments have been able to stave off the world recession by pouring reserve funds into public works programmes, but these coffers are now empty... (more)
Switching off dangerous electricity circuitry vs. constraints of switching off services
by Deon Louw, Overstrand Municipality

The life of a responsible person, in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), General Machineries Regulations (GMR), can sometimes get quite nerve-racking, when not only the requirements of the OHSA have to be adhered to, but also the requirements of other legislation such as the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA)... (more)
Dangers and hazards of entry into live substations and enclosures
by Barry Gass, ACTOM Protection & Control

This paper looks at the dangers and hazards of entering and working in live substations and enclosures. It looks at some specific examples and incidents and the reasons why persons entering these areas must be trained and deemed competent to work unsupervised  in a substation ... (more)
The importance of markings/labels in the electrical industry
by Dennis Mokoala, Polokwane Municipality 

Wrong labeling/markings were identified as one of the causes of industrial accidents where property is damaged and/or people are injured or have lost their lives... (more)
Optimising health and safety management by job task to risk behaviour profile matching 
by Dr. WJ du Toit, SAFTEK

Organisations in the electrical engineering environment do not always acknowledge risk factors related to specific employees' predisposition for high risk taking behaviour that could have a negative impact on their activities. Rather, organisations concentrate on structuring their engineering environment and activities to comply with health and safety (H&S) legislation in the belief that such compliance could afford a guarantee against incidents... (more)
Low loss distribution transformers in a South African context
by G Stanford, G Jones and S Whiting, Powertech Transformers 

This paper provides an overview of the importance of losses in a distribution transformer. Current distribution transformer loss specifications are reviewed and an evaluation of the capitalisation formula is given with regards to four utilities... (more)
Case study: protection settings management at City Power
by H Baartman, Digsilent Buyisa, and H Nkuna, City Power  

A case study on the implementation of an integrated protection settings management system (PSMS) at City Power. This PSMS manages and stores all protective relays settings and parameters and allows for workflow management within the protection environment...  (more)
A network reliability informed approach to prioritising investment for sustainability
by Martin Cameron, EON Consulting and Dr. Clinton Carter-Brown, Eskom  

Developing an understanding of the financial and economic implications of network infrastructure service levels requirements and the potential trade-offs between service levels, cost and the impact on the economy... (more)
Power quality monitoring system (PQMS) for the City of Ekurhuleni
by Stephen Delport, City of Ekurhuleni   

Quality of supply (QoS) in electrical energy is important for the sustainability of a local utility. The annual budget has to be based on a realistic assumption that retailing electrical energy will realise a projected profit. But selling electrical energy is in itself not sustainable if the quality does not empower the user to generate profit... (more)
Using low voltage smart system (LVSS) data for intelligent operations and customer support
by Hartmut Bohmer and Haneefa Motani, Util Labs 

 

The LVSS is an end to end system that enables more efficient management and control of electricity consumption and distribution using real time information. For the purpose of demand management, the low voltage smart system (LVSS) was piloted in a residential area in the Gauteng province over the last 4 years... (more

Cellphone technology for asset management and its impact on operational efficiency
by Ignatius van Zyl, Touchwork

 

This paper outlines solution requirements and mobile technology best practices for the municipal sector, focusing on managing a diverse physical asset portfolio and related services... (more)

  
Is Chernobyl Dead?
  
Brian Rowell Book
  
In this issue...
- Keynote address at the AMEU Convention 2012
- Opening speech by AMEU president
- Incoming president's address
- Honorary membership awards
- Merit award
- Smart grid evolution through microgrid aggregation in Africa
- Innovative approach to an ICT infrastructure supporting smart grids and smart metering
- ZigBee as a technology platform for advanced metering infrastructure
- Mobile technology for infield data collections and electronic works orders
- Half-cycle circuit breaker for rural smart grids minimises operating costs of feeder, spur lines
- Impact of efficiency measures and distributed generation on municipal electricity revenue
- Simulation studies required for renewable energy integration
- Demystifying the smart grid
- When is smart metering really smart?
- Technology deployment as a smarter industry enabler
- Smart grid solutions for transformer monitoring and diagnostics
- Domestic time of use tariff determination
- Building a real smart solution
- Switching off dangerous electricity circuitry vs. constraints of switching off services
- Dangers and hazards of entry into live substations and enclosures
- The importance of markings/labels in the electrical industry
- Optimising health and safety management by job task to risk behaviour profile matching
- Low loss distribution transformers in a South African context
- Case study: protection settings management at City Power
- A network reliability informed approach to prioritising investment for sustainability
- Power quality monitoring system (PQMS) for the City of Ekurhuleni
- Using low voltage smart system (LVSS) data for intelligent operations and customer support
- Cellphone technology for asset management and its impact on operational efficiency
  

 

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