Sparks Electrical News February 2022

ENERGY MEASUREMENT AND SUPPLY + ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

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Building owners in a race against time to log Energy Performance Certificates – electricians can help

O wners of buildings in South Africa have un- der a year left to obtain and prominently display an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or risk a fine of R5-million, five years imprison- ment or both. The regulations, under the National Energy Act, were gazetted over a year ago, on 8 December 2020, and apply until 7 December 2022, meaning that building owners who have not acted have ex- actly a year left in which to comply. The regulations require that owners of four categories of buildings must obtain an EPC which, in general terms, gives a building a rating based on the amount of energy consumed per square metre. The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), which maintains an EPC register on behalf of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), has urged building owners to take all necessary steps to comply with EPC regu- lations, emphasising that compliance affords them and the country a range of benefits. SANEDI General Manager for Energy Efficiency, Barry Bredenkamp says compliance with EPC regulations will enable building owners to iden- tify where they could introduce energy efficiency measures that would, in turn, save them money and possibly increase the value of their buildings. “An energy efficient building is generally a better envi- ronment in which to work and is significantly less expensive to run, so an owner can potentially justify Faced with international pressure to decarbonise, and the local economic imperative to liberalise and allow competition-driven efficiency, SA’s state power utility initi- ated their unbundling process from a vulnerable position. Saddled with ZAR 400 billion in debt, and an ageing coal fleet that is increasingly unable to meet national grid demands, the embattled utility plans to separate into three divisions for its three primary functions: generation, transmission, and distribution, with each entity expected to be allocated a portion of the debt. There are legitimate concerns around how these entities will raise capital and stay afloat while shouldering such great arrears. “Our task now is to bridge the gap between a belea- guered parastatal and its progressive vision to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050. The IRP 2019 outlines SA’s stepping stones to reduce coal’s contribution to the en- ergy mix to below 60%, in favour of renewables like wind, and PV technologies, which would account for 25% of our energy mix by 2030,” Fourie notes. Fourie speculates that Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) funds, currently seeing success in the Western Cape, could be rolled out to facilitate municipal genera- tion in other provinces. “Although it’s a relatively small fund, only for preparatory work, by focusing on getting IPPs up-and-running, MER is giving the Western Cape energy sector a notable boost, bolstering domestic and industrial energy security, and bringing it into better align- ment with the DMRE’s progressive decarbonisation and circular economy goals”. The DMER’s REIPPPP programme also heralds strong prospects for the renewable energy industry, and job creation in 2022. “REIPPPP projects have already created some 40 000 jobs in SA, spread over some 100 sites procured by the IPP office during the first 5 rounds of IPP bidding. In accordance with its vision for a just, inclusive transi- tion, REIPPPP project applications must include 20-year commitment plans, detailing the project’s projected socio- economic impact, and potential contributions to just em- ployment and economic transformation,” Fourie explains. He adds that, with Round 6 planned for 2022, and Round 7 to follow in late 2022 or early 2023, many new jobs look set to be created at solar and wind plants, espe- cially in the nation’s three Cape provinces where the bulk of SA’s renewable energy is produced. Fourie is one of the executives at the helm of Scatec’s

for Energy Performance Certificates for buildings. The Skills Programme aims to qualify young elec- tricians for income-generating employment. The EPC Practitioners Skills Programme is supported by the GIZ Skills Development for a Green Econ- omy ll (SD4GE II) programme, a German technical cooperation programme implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooper- ation and Development (BMZ), and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The programme aims to enable colleges in Gaut- eng and Western Cape to make the EPC for Build- ings course available to their engineering students after the programme and colleges are invited to express their interest to participate. A total of 50 students, half in Gauteng and half in Western Cape, will be placed through the programme and electri- cians may express interest to apply as well. Key to the success of this programme is workplaces that are looking to use EPC practitioners to meet the regulatory requirements, workplaces are invited to express their interest to mentor a student, and en- ter the mentorship training program as part of the EPC Practitioner Skills Programme where IEPA will guide the mentors to successful outcomes for the students. For more information on the EPC regulations, visit https://www.sanedi.org.za/Energy_Performance_ Certificates.html devices or from those that have embedded metering capabilities such as protection relays, breaker trip units, motor control units and vari- able speed drives (VSD). All organisational electrical assets can then be monitored 24/7 including transformers, me- dium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) switch- gear, generators, transfer switches, power con- trol panels, distribution panels, motor control centres, UPSs, and harmonic filters. The above then provides real-time analysis of power conditions and quality and important- ly how efficiently energy is being consumed and equipment health. This electrical power data can then be shared with building management systems (BMS), SCADA, industrial automation or enterprise energy management systems which don’t have the analytic and visualisation tools required manage organisation’s electrical infrastructure. Power management systems therefore pro- vide the operational intelligence required for the real-time operation and maintenance of electrical assets and the power distribution net- work as a whole How does it help you? There have been significant advancements in power and energy analytic tools that provide greater ease of use for facility teams. Power management systems also cover of myriad of applications to address: • Electrical system health and efficiency which also identifies overloads and fault finding. • Capacity management which includes an- alysing historical trends. This is especially vital when operating a critical facility with backup power systems, such as hospitals or datacentres. • Equipment monitoring - often power qual- ity problems lie within your own electrical distribution system. As facilities modernise to improve energy efficiency, the addition of LED lighting, VSDs, and automation equipment can produce harmonics and identify distortion.

is to make them aware of their energy consumption and encourage them to be more energy efficient if their EPC rating is poor,” explains Bredenkamp. “Buildings are responsible for between 30% and 40% of carbon emissions worldwide. EPC pro- grammes are commonplace in many parts of the world and in some cases even extend right down to the level of residential buildings, and they are one of many energy efficiency measures currently being implemented to drive down fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions worldwide. “We had cause to celebrate when South Africa in- troduced EPC international best-practice a year ago, and we are hoping that many more of our building owners will see the value in energy efficiency.” Bredenkamp adds that the process of obtaining an EPC has significant job creation potential. “An EPC must be issued by a South African National Accreditation System accredited inspection body. With many thousands of buildings to be rated, in- spection bodies will almost certainly need to em- ploy significant numbers of individuals to assist them in gathering the required data, measurements and related information, for their final review and sign-off”. To this effect, SANEDI, in partnership with the Institute of Energy Professionals Africa (IEPA), are making available an Energy Performance Certifi- cate (EPC) Practitioners Skills Programme which is a demand-oriented, dual-structured short course

a higher price if they want to sell or impose a higher rental for office space,” explains Bredenkamp. “The more energy efficient buildings become, the more they will contribute to taking electricity demand off the national grid. This could help to ease loadshedding, and by reducing carbon emis- sions, building owners will be helping our country to meet its international obligations to combat climate change.” The categories that currently need to comply are offices, entertainment facilities, educational in- stitution buildings, and places of public assembly such as sporting facilities and community centres. The regulations apply to government buildings of more than 1 000 square metres and privately- owned buildings of more than 2 000 square me- tres. An accurate figure of the number of build- ings covered by the regulations is not available but Bredenkamp says estimates vary between 150 000 and 250 000 buildings that need to comply with the regulations. An EPC rates buildings on a scale of A to G in a similar way to how appliances are rated for their energy efficiency. A D-rating is the benchmark rat- ing which is in line with the national building regula- tions. An EPC must be prominently displayed in the foyer of a building. “The regulations do provide penalties for any par- ticular rating lower than an A-rating, but the primary objective in obliging building owners to obtain EPCs

Electrical Power Systems Management provide valuable insight

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 SA’S GREEN ENERGY OUTLOOK FOR 2022

I n an era where South Africa faces a continu- ous and uphill battle in stabilising its energy provision, many businesses are focuses on alternative resources and backup supply such as UPSs, generators, and inverters, explains Vladimir Milovanovic, Vice President, Power Systems, Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric. However, companies still need to manage their current power infrastructure which makes a compelling case of electrical power man- agement systems. At its core, a power man- agement system can simplify organisational operations whilst providing real insights into efficiency and processes. “At Schneider Electric we often get asked; why do I need to manage my power? The sim- ple answer is: electrical systems are getting more complex. Loads and processes have in- creased and similarly power systems have be- come more distributed and sensitive,” he says. Facilities today depend on their electrical distribution infrastructure to keep operations running. These can range from large and criti- cal facilities such as datacentres, hospitals and airports to industrial plants and commercial buildings or campuses. Power management systems help ensure the safe, reliable, efficient, and compliant operation of electrical distribution systems including the assets connected and offer benefits such as: • Avoiding electrical fires and prevent shock; • Recovering from outages more quickly and safely; • Improving uptime by avoiding unplanned outages; • Finding ways to reduce energy costs; • Optimising maintenance and get more life from electrical assets; How does a power management sys- tem work? A power management system forms part of the digitised power distribution network, includ- ing connected devices and sensors that collect data from key points across the electrical in- frastructure. Additionally, real-time power information can be acquired from standalone power metering

ambitious new RMIPPP-endorsed 150MW flagship twin hybrid PV-and-storage site in the Northern Cape. Sport- ing two million individual solar panels, and an initial Capex of around a billion USD, the plant will be one of the biggest hybrid plants of its kind in the world. “Earlier this year, new policy amendments were an- nounced that exempt IPPs with up to 100 MW output capacity from previously onerous NERSA licensing. This relaxing of red-tape, in conjunction with REIPPPP bidding coming up again soon, and the fact that renewables are now the most competitive generation source, present an exciting landscape for renewables in 2022 and beyond,” he says. “Entire markets may start to open up for embedded generation, energy wheeling and power brokerage, with new legislation allowing complex energy mixes and in- novative financing models. “Renewables present significant opportunities for in- vestors who are eager for their ‘place in the sun’,” says Fourie. “Government collaboration with the private sector and international stakeholders, who possess the capital and expertise to unlock the rich potential offered by renewa- bles in SA is imperative. This will further create an attrac- tive investment environment, in which long-term Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) between IPPs and state utilities provide predictable cash flows and yield regular dividend pay-outs for investors,” he adds. “Industry players are cautiously optimistic that next year could herald an accelerated drive towards the just, inclusive energy transition enshrined in our IRP, in which all South Africans will be the beneficiaries of a cleaner, brighter future,” concludes Fourie. References: • https://www.news24.com/fin24/opinion/opinion- its-all-about-eskom-what-cop26-means-for- sa-20211103 • https://www.miningreview.com/energy/the-evolu- tion-of-south-africas-energy-landscape/ • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59135169 • https://www.investec.com/en_za/focus/investing/ renewable-energy-the-infinite-investment-opportu- nity.html

Enquiries: www.se.com/za

Enquiries: www.scatec.com

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

FEBRUARY 2022