South Africa’s energy sector is at the cross roads in an uncertain and incoherent policy environment caused by the self-induced chaos of the Zuma administration, with three ministers of energy in 2017 alone, and further political change likely after the ANC’s elective conference in mid-December 2017. According to Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, failures of governance, […]
Flow batteries have been around for several decades but until recently have been scaled for utility sized operation. Recent developments have produced smaller units which are finding application in industrial networks. A bank of such units manufactured by Redflow, was recently installed at the premises of Bosco in Johannesburg. The ZBM2 flow battery unit, which […]
Pulseclosing technology is an innovative solution where instead of immediately reclosing, the circuit is first “tested” for fault conditions before a reclose is initiated. When compared to conventional reclosing, pulseclosing will reduce the let-through energy of a fault by more than 95%. As such the stress on the system is drastically reduced. Utilities worldwide have used […]
A growing number of businesses find that large, heavy-duty generator sets are critically important to their operations, whether for continuous, prime or standby power. Not surprisingly, large generator sets produce high levels of noise that often must be mitigated to meet local, state and federal regulations or directives. This usually involves key decisions about the […]
High voltage DC (HVDC) systems have proved their worth in the transmission of electricity over long distances. DC network technology is being extended to medium voltage (MVDC) and low voltage (LVDC) networks, where there are significant advantages for certain types of network. DC is being considered as an alternative to AC in sparsely populated areas, […]
Maintaining the reliability of generators and large motors is a very skilled task and one that is central to the productivity of many industries. Most large businesses using this specialist equipment have to choose between engaging a number of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or selecting an independent service provider (ISP). The outcome of this decision […]
The fourth industrial revolution is fundamentally changing businesses, and we’re seeing it at all levels, says Valter Adao, who has been contemplating the future of work both for Deloitte’s clients, and in his role of driving internal change in the consultancy. To him it is not just about the job roles that are changing, but […]
Dylan Tudor-Jones, the country manager for Gransolar Group in South Africa, opened the Large Scale Solar Power Event at Nedbank in Sandton recently by reminding the audience of an old joke regarding the invention of a solar-powered torch. Today, however, solar-powered torches are a reality and are the often one of the easiest ways to […]
Speaking at the power utility’s annual public forum on transmission and distribution planning, Thava Govender, the utility’s group executive for transmission and acting group executive for risk and sustainability, said the power utility plans to add an additional 6700 km of high voltage lines and 41 000 MVA transformation equipment the its transmission network over […]
After some initial delays, the disciplinary hearing of suspended head of generation and former acting CEO at Eskom, Mr. Matshela Koko, got off to a rocky start at about 17h00 on Wednesday 18 October 2017 in the Franklin Auditorium at Eskom Megawatt Park, Johannesburg. The disciplinary hearing relates to widely reported allegations of nepotism and […]
