African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa announces agenda for joint ‘Digital Energy Festival’

“Addressing post-pandemic energy issues on the continent”

Private sector participation in the energy sector, small-scale hydro and mini grid opportunities, desalination as an option to secure water security and helping SSMEs with a toolkit are just some of the highlights of the Digital African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa agenda in November.

The programme forms part of the upcoming ‘Digital Energy Festival for Africa’ which unites African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, Africa Energy Forum and the Oil & Gas Council’s Africa Assembly under one banner, offering an unprecedented five-week tour de force of quality content and engagement on the continent’s largest, all-encompassing digital energy platform.

The ‘Digital Energy Festival’ takes place from 20 October to 26 November 2020. The digital platform will allow attendees to access content and networking offerings across all three market-leading events with one point of entry, making it the largest ever energy event for the African continent marketed to a combined energy database of over 200,000.

Post-pandemic impact on energy sector Amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector in Africa, the organisers of the ‘Digital Energy Festival’ seek to address critical issues such as pivoting to digital, new financial models and innovative power generation sources to allow attendees to make decisions and formulate recovery plans.

“It is inspiring to be part of such a unique joint venture with two other leading players in the energy events sector,” says Chanelle Hingston, Power & Energy Group Director at Clarion Events Africa, the organisers of the award-winning African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition for the last 20 years. “Each one of us as event organisers has a strong team with a different and distinctive focus on the many-faceted energy sector. For example, we are well known for always gathering world-class experts for our water-focused discussions as part of our event.”

She adds: “Since the start of the pandemic we have had to postpone our live event twice but, along with our partners and customers, we have fully embraced the digital tools available to us to keep the conversation going. As we proclaimed recently: “The show will go on,” and being part of the ‘Digital Energy Festival’ is a continuation of celebrating and supporting our continent’s power and energy professionals, projects and pioneers. We look forward to engaging with our long-standing partners online again and also welcoming new faces to our platform.”

Topic and speaker highlights of Digital African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa programme include:Tuesday, 24 November, 2020:

• Opening Keynote Address: Private sector participation in the African power sector
• Host ministerial address: Fireside discussion with Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, South Africa*
• Host utility address: Fireside discussion with André de Ruyter, Group Chief Executive, Eskom, South Africa*
• Small scale hydro opportunities in East Africa

Wednesday, 25 November, 2020:

• Building resilient incomes to ensure sustainable business models
• Decentralised desalination versus a centralised water system

Thursday, 26 November, 2020:

• Utility guide for pivoting to digital
• How do you start a career or decide areas to upskill during this period of flux?

The programme is available on the event website: https://www.african-utility-week.com/digital/virtual-programme

The full programme for the ‘Digital Energy Festival for Africa’ will be available on 24 September.

Multi-award-winning events The next live, in person edition of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa will take place from 11-13 May 2021 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Clarion Events Africa is a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the infrastructure, energy and mining sectors. Other well-known events include the Utility CEO Forums, Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, Nigeria Mining Week, Africa Mining Forum and DRC Mining Week. Clarion Events Africa is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group’s Clarion Energy Series, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of the group’s largest portfolios.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa dates and location: ‘Digital Energy Festival for Africa’: 20 October-26 November 2020 Digital conference and matchmaking: 24-26 November 2020 Venue: Online

Live, in-person conference and exhibition: 11-13 May 2021 Venue: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: https://www.african-utility-week.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    Linkedin: African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa

Media contact: Senior Communications Manager:  Annemarie Roodbol Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558 Email:  annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.com