Housing in Southern Africa June 2016

Energy Efficiency

Brighter future for African power The expansion of generation and transmission capacity, and the rapid adoption of renewables such as solar, promise economic benefits and improved quality of life across Africa.

W illy Majola, Senior General Manager Engineering at Es- kom, speaking on behalf of Matshela Koko, Group Executive Generation at Eskom, said: “Since August last year, there has been no load shedding. We have stepped up maintenance and are bringing more generation capacity online. On the transmission side, Eskom is rolling out 765 kV lines for bulk distribution, and has installed over 6 000 km of transmission lines in the past seven years. On the distribution side, we have provided over 4,6million house- holds with electricity since 1991.” Majola said a key factor in improv- ing power generation and distribu- tion was collaboration: “We are well aware of the big responsibility on our shoulders and the impact electricity has on our economy. “Someone once said, ‘electricity is the oxygen of our country’, it supports more than economic development – quality of life. Power and other in- frastructure, such as clean water and air, are needed for a better standard of living. We realise we cannot do this on our own. Therefore, we work with many international organisations as well as local universities to increase our knowledge and overcome chal- lenges. In line with this, our partner- shipwithPOWER-GEN&DistribuTECH Africa is a beneficial one and the upcoming event enables Eskom to

meet industryplayers.”POWER-GEN& DistribuTECHAfrica conference Chair, Dr Willie de Beer, said: “South Africa is reforming the industry by default. By introducing IPPs, enabling self-built transmission grids and supporting the solar revolution, our industry is adapting to change andmoving away from the hW/H utility model.” Renewables, in particular solar, present significant hope for afford- able power that can be rolled out quickly inunder-servedareas. DeBeer noted, “Utilities will have to adapt to accommodate this.” SindiswaMzamo, Chief Operating Officer of the Edison Power Group and POWER-GEN & Dis- tribuTECH Africa participant, noted that Africa had reached a tipping point for the adoption of solar power. “Across Africa, solar is the solution for powering rural communities, because it is cost effective and does not need to be connected to a grid to power an isolated geographic area. The wave of solar adoptions may be one of the

Willy Majola

most important initiatives in African power right now,” she said. Glenn Ensor, the conference or- ganiser says that due to the growing importance of solar power in Africa, POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa would focus strongly on solar tech- nologies and strategies this year. He also announced that a delegation of Turkish solar product manufactur- ers would travel to South Africa to participate in the expo, showcasing advanced solar technologies suited to African markets. The 2016 edition of POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa will highlight a number of other key themes, including the maintenance and management of ageing assets, the nuclear power question, the gamut of renewable energies, and advanced technologies and smart grids. The conference has also expanded its reach to include energy heavy industries such as mining, plastics and manufacturing. By bringing to- gether over 2 000 stakeholders from across the power value chain – from generation through to end users – POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2016 aims to facilitate networking and knowledge sharing that catalyses power sector advancement across the continent. Under the theme ‘Creating power for sustainable growth’ POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2016 will be staged from 19 – 21 July at the Sand- ton Convention Centre, with a strong focus on renewable energy, sustain- able power generation and distribu- tion, pan-Africanpower provision and smarter management and grids. For more information go to www.powergenafrica.com ■

June 2016