E-Newsletter for the Power & Energy Sectors of Southern Africa
Issue 85, March 2015
How will SA's new nuclear power stations be paid for? by Roger Lilley, EE Publishers
The South African government has committed itself, by means of its Nuclear Energy Policy and Integrated Resource Plan, to an energy mix consisting of coal, gas, hydro, nuclear, solar and wind. Why then was no mention of its nuclear plan mentioned in the budget speech... (more)
South Africa "does not have a shortage of generation capacity"
by Dr. Wolsey Barnard, acting DG, Department of Energy
South Africa does not have a shortage of generation capacity, says the Department of Energy, but a shortage of available generation capacity. Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the minister of energy at the Africa Energy Indaba... (more)
The electricity sector - understanding the drama and moving forward
by Chris Yelland, investigative editor, EE Publishers
Could the reason for the suspension of for Eskom executives, including the CEO, be that they had issued a tender inquiry in early March 2015 for a panel of some twenty independent auditors to investigate the probity of procurement contracts approved by the Eskom board with transaction values greater than R300-million?... (more)
No power equals no water
by Dr. Chris Herold
A general power blackout would affect the entire nation for anywhere between one and three weeks. This is because getting generators going again requires careful synchronisation and is a very slow process. Moreover, Eskom has no experience of handling this. Imagine one, two or three weeks without electricity!... (more)
Cigré chairman's report for 2014
by Rob Stephen, Cigré
Cigré South Africa has continued to fare extremely well in Cigré internationally and this is reflected by the election to senior positions of South African delegates by the international community. R. Stephen was re-elected to the steering committee of Cigré in 2014. For the Paris 2014 session there were four papers selected for publication for... (more)
Recent developments in storage technology and applications by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
Electrical energy storage systems (ESS) are becoming increasingly important in both the renewable energy and the smart grid sectors, as more operators are realising that without ESS it will be difficult to progress forward. Although it was regarded in the past as too expensive, storage is now seen to be an essential... (more)
This month Energize's readers write about various issues regarding Eskom such as the fuel used in the utility's OCGTs, its former maintenance plan, and the problems the power utility faces due to political interference... (more)
A utility's automation system is only useful when it is supporting the engineering and operational availability of the entire facility as a whole, i.e. random and continuous on-going failures within the automation system are not the only cause of costly plant stoppages and lower plant outputs affecting island and grid stability... (more)
High temperature low sag power line conductors
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
The increasing need to expand the capacity of transmission networks, and limits on servitudes available, has lead to the development of methods to increase the capacity of existing routes. This has resulted in a new breed of overhead conductor which can remain within physical limits at higher currents... (more)
Applying vacuum switchgear at transmission voltages
Information from Cigré
Vacuum switchgear has been in extensive use in distribution systems for 30 years for the making and breaking of (fault) current and the switching of loads of all possible nature. The reliability and performance records of the vacuum switching technology are outstanding in the medium voltage range (up to 52 kV)... (more)
On-site calibration of voltage transformers
by Seokhoon Hong, Florian Predl, Michael Freiburg and Dr. Michael Krueger, Omicron
This article presents a newly proposed method for an on-site calibration of inductive and capacitive voltage transformers from a practical point of view by using a so-called modeling approach. The new method has been verified in field studies on new and aged capacitive and inductive VTs... (more)
Save fuel and money with renewables in the midst of an energy crisis
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
The national media has seen a flood of reports on the performance of the new renewable energy systems installed under the REIPPP, based on a press release issued by the CSIR. The release reports a savings in both fuel and costs, giving a net savings of R800-million in 2014. This article is a summary of that report... (more)
Implementing a biomass waste-to-energy solution in a dairy
Information from Caterpillar
Homestead Dairy began as a modest family farm with only 110 cows. In 1979, brothers Floyd and Dan Houin purchased the farm from their father and turned it into a massive dairy operation. The dairy was recently upgraded to make use of manure to power a biomass waste-to-energy plant... (more)
Electrical, insulation and thermal measurements for motors and drives
Information from Comtest
Electrical, insulation resistance and thermal measurement are three tests that can troubleshoot motors, drives and associated electrical panels, and prolong their operational lifetime. Most facilities must obtain maximum life out of their motors because they are expensive to replace, in terms of both money and labour... (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)
Suspect solar panels stunt growth of community crèche
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
The opening of a community crèche was reported in Energize, October 2014, and had great expectations. Powered by solar panels, the crèche is off-grid and regarded as a social upliftment programme. The performance of the main solar power system has been less than encouraging though, and has affected the functioning of the... (more)
