E-Newsletter for the Power & Energy Sectors of Southern Africa
Issue 84, Jan/Feb 2015
2015: New era or dark future? by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
We are now just past the halfway mark of the 2010s decade and 2015 seems to be a good target year for achieving goals by many programmes, in fact the whole decade seems to have been... (more)
Cheap and abundant electricity has been the underlying assumption of most South Africans for over a generation. This assumption is faulty and SA will have to build its economy using entirely different foundations... (more)
The new world of energy: Digital, local and consumer focused
by Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO and chairman of Schneider Electric
The energy world is moving from concentrated and centralised systems to decentralised systems with diverse energy generation sources. There are two main causes for this transformation... (more)
Audio: Chris Yelland on the Eskom crisis and the way forward
EE Publishers' Chris Yelland speaks to Bruce Whitfield on the Radio 702/Cape Talk "Money Show" about Eskom's War Room and 5-point plan to address the electricity crisis in South Africa... (more)
South Africa - truly on the horns of a trilemma
by Brian Statham, WEC
SA 's energy system is a textbook illustration of the challenges outlined in the WEC's energy trilemma model. Finding a balance between equity, security and sustainability is at the heart of the policy debate... (more)
Power and automation company bullish about the future by Roger Lilley, EE Publishers
Energize speaks to ABB South Africa MD Leon Viljoen about the company's annual results, which showed a revenue decrease from R5,9-billion in 2013 to R4,8-billion last year... (more)
Eskom's boiler contractor at Medupi and Kusile defends its reputation by Chris Yelland, investigative editor, EE Publishers
Eskom's boiler works contractor at Medupi and Kusile has moved to defend its reputation, and to clarify its position in respect of any perceived non-performances in meeting its contractual obligations... (more)
Eskom's former maintenance policies described as "pure madness"
Sir, I write this letter as a former Eskom executive to provide some insights from the past into the problems facing Eskom today... (more)
This month, Energize's readers write about load shedding and the cost of unserved energy, and provide some recommendations for Eskom's War Room. They also offer the utility advice on solving its woes... (more)
Sir, Forgive me for me for being so forthright so early in the new year, but I thought it necessary to put in my tuppence worth about the terrible mess in which the electricity supply industry finds itself today... (more)
The 45th biennial session of Cigré was held in Paris from 24 to 29 August 2014. The meeting was attended by members of the SA national committee and a report-back was held on 23 October at the Eskom learning centre... (more)
How utilities reduce costs and boost efficiency with gas
by Michael Devine, Caterpillar
Distributed generation has gained favour as utilities seek cost-effective ways to keep up with rising demand for power. The concept helps forestall construction of costly centralised power plants, and power used near the point of production limits stress on distribution and transmission systems... (more)
The DoE has issued a request for qualificationand proposals for new generation capacity under the coal base-load IPP procurement programme. The request does not mention plant size but stipulates pulverised coal and fluidised bed systems... (more)
Electrical transient interaction between transformers and the power system
Information from Cigré
Transformers are constantly exposed to different types of transient events, which often imposes high stresses on their insulation structure. Even when good insulation coordination studies and well-known insulation design practices are applied, a significant number of transformers suffer dielectric failures... (more)
Implementing protection and control of future HVDC grids
Information from Alstom
In a grid topology using HVDC circuit breakers able to provide fast clearance of a DC fault, two main contrasting, yet complementary, solutions appear possible. One would be to apply the same protection philosophy and principles used in AC systems. The second could be the "Open Grid" concept... (more)
Biojetfuel: Biofuel with a future
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
The recent announcement that a South African carrier together with a major manufacturer and biofuel companies are to develop biofuel for its fleet of jets may signal the start of an entire new biofuel industry in this country. Aviation biofuels have been used by commercial and military organisations for some time now... (more)
by Prof. Philip Lloyd, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Ethanol gel fuels have been studied for several years as a possible replacement for paraffin. It has a number of obvious advantages over paraffin: It should burn more cleanly; it should not flow far if spilled; and it should be far more readily extinguished than paraffin... (more)
Rectifier transformers: Technology update
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
Industry sectors such as the electrochemical and smelting rely on low voltage high current DC supplies for operation, which are supplied from sources known as rectifier transformers. This article is an overview of the technology available in this field... (more)
Ethernet has become the standard for communications networks around the world, whether for utility, industrial, ITS or any other mission critical application. Moving to ethernet rather than the more traditional serial communications has changed the way that these sites and applications are being handled... (more)
