• Electrolux invests R16 million in new 1 MW solar system at Benoni factory.
• Carbon footprint to be slashed by 40% through solar energy.
• Green energy powered electric forklifts to replace diesel in three years. 

Electrolux South Africa has embarked on its journey to exit the national electricity grid and move to renewable solar energy, cutting the organisation’s carbon footprint at its local Kwikot water heater (geyser) manufacturing plant by an impressive 40%.

Ughard de Clercq, lean engineer at Electrolux South Africa said the organisation was expected to complete the development of a major 1 MW solar energy system at its Benoni factory by November 2021. The company has invested R16 million in the solar system which it started building in July 2021. 

“We plan to be climate neutral by 2030 in all our manufacturing operations. So far, we have implemented a 112 kWp solar system for our offices in 2020 and have saved over 96 tons of CO2 just this year. We expect that the 1 MW solar system will reduce our manufacturing CO2 footprint by 40%,” said de Clercq. Once completed, the solar system will comprise 1278 solar panels that will power the factory during the day, supplying as much as 80 to 90% of the plant’s energy requirements. The organisation also intended exploring the possibility of purchasing renewable energy from Eskom, to meet its night time electricity requirements when the parastatal is ready to offer privately produced green energy as an option said de Clercq.

“We did not develop more than one megawatt due to the roof space and current regulations limiting the amount of electricity generated via a solar system, but the government is looking to increase it,” he added. 

When limits were increased to 100MW or more, Electrolux would also investigate extending its solar system so that it could sell power back to the electricity grid. “If the local law and infrastructure allows it, we would want to sell the excess green electricity back into the grid. We would like to be able to make a contribution to other organisations by supplying them with green energy,” he said. Electrolux would likely also explore installing smaller solar energy systems at its geyser distribution centres around South Africa. 

“We plan in the next two to three years to start reducing the consumption of our fossil fuels by switching from diesel to electric forklifts that can be charged by our solar system,” said de Clercq.

“We are also investigating how to reduce our water consumption in the future by harvesting the rain water to reduce our environmental impact even further.” This latest investment in solar energy at its local factory was part of the organisation’s global strategy to achieve its ‘better living’ 2030 goal of zero carbon emissions, partially by using renewable energy in production. The investment also follows similar solar systems installed at the company’s plants in China, Thailand and Australia.

“We strive not only to manufacture sustainable products such as our appliances, but to manufacture them in a sustainable way. It is important to look after the environment and do our part for future generations to come,” commented Murray Crow, Electrolux South Africa’s Managing Director.

-- ENDS --

Distributed by EchoSquare on behalf of the WWF. For more information, please contact Kerry Webb at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 082 496 0713 

Mother City to welcome back 10 000+ energy and water professionals

Addressing the current landscape of water and energy projects all over the subcontinent, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, in collaboration with the Department of Energy, is proud to announce the confirmation of the South African Minister of Energy, Honourable Jeff Radebe, who will form part of the stellar line up at the opening Ministry address on 14 May at the CTICC in Cape Town. The minister also opened this flagship industry gathering last year.

The new co-location of POWERGEN Africa at the 19th edition of the event from 14-16 May will add an expanded focus on generation, including renewables, off grid, fossil fuels and nuclear, while still concentrating on transmission, distribution, metering, new technologies including storage, mini grids, micro grids, IOT and ICT systems, as well as water.

Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event boasts a five track strategic conference with over 300 expert speakers. An extensive Knowledge Hub programme that is CPD accredited and free to attend, offers hands-on presentations taking place in defined spaces on the exhibition floor. These discuss practical, day-to-day technical topics, best practices and product solutions that businesses, large power users and utilities can implement in their daily operations.

Other keynote speakers confirmed so far are:

• Dr Mark Swilling, Programme Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Programme in the School of Public Leadership; the Academic Director of the Sustainability Institute; and the Co-Director of the Stellenbosch Centre for Complex Systems in Transition.
• Prof Anton Eberhard, who the directs Managing Infrastructure Investment Reform Regulation In Africa (MIRA) at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. He is also chairing a team appointed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to advise on turning Eskom around and restructuring the power sector.

Following the keynote session, conference delegates will break into five programme tracks. The programme for 2019 follows the industry trend of connecting the full value chain, so content is not siloed by industry and reflects the many disciplines required for a modern, smart power industry:

• The Future Cities conference will look at Africa’s current urban living challenges and ask what is needed for the cities of tomorrow and who will be leading the way?
• Learn about the finance and investment trends and forecasts for Africa’s power infrastructure in the Power Strategy Development conference, tailored to utilities and companies with an interest in finance and investment as well as generation options.
• The Smart Energy conference will combine metering-based topics with the latest smart grid solutions to equip the sectors leaders and innovators.
• Energy Revolution Africa provides a dynamic meeting place for solution providers, consultants, renewable energy producers and the African and global energy minds to develop alternative solutions towards the acceleration of Africa’s sustainable electrification.
• The Water conference will bring together experts from public and private sectors to support municipalities as they become more responsive and efficient in their practices.

International pavilions
Apart from the official U.S. country pavilion at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa showcasing specialised technology and services for the utility, metering, renewable and water industries, country pavilions from Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India and Poland have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry support
A multi-award-winning conference and exhibition, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa has already secured early support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, Landis+Gyr, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare and Sulzer as gold sponsors. The sixth edition of the annual African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards also returns to celebrate pioneering utilities, projects and people in the energy and water industry on the continent during 2018/2019.

CEO Forum
The Utility CEO Forum an exclusive gathering of regional utility CEOs within the power and energy sector providing a unique, safe space for discussion and debate of the modern day challenges in running African utilities in a fast developing market with high political expectations and low returns within aging or no infrastructure. Confirmed industry expert and technology partners for this strategic gathering are Conlog, Eaton, Nyamezela, Ontec, Oracle and Steinmüller.

African Utility Week and the co-located POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019 
Site visits: 17 May 2019 
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019
Linkedin: African Utility Week

Contact:
Senior communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mother City to welcome back 10 000+ energy and water professionals

“The African Utility Week conference has a longstanding reputation of producing innovative, topical and high-level content, discussion and engagement” says event director Evan Schiff, adding: “the 19th edition of the event from 14-16 May in Cape Town this year will, once again, not disappoint.”

The new co-location of POWERGEN Africa in 2019 will add an expanded focus on generation, including renewables, off grid, fossil fuels and nuclear, while still concentrating on transmission, distribution, metering, new technologies including storage, mini grids, micro grids, IOT and ICT systems, as well as water.

Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event boasts a five track strategic conference with over 300 expert speakers. An extensive Knowledge Hub programme that is CPD accredited and free to attend, offers hands-on presentations taking place in defined spaces on the exhibition floor. These discuss practical, day-to-day technical topics, best practices and product solutions that businesses, large power users and utilities can implement in their daily operations

.Keynote speakers confirmed so far are:

- Dr Mark Swilling, Programme Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Programme in the School of Public Leadership; the Academic Director of the Sustainability Institute; and the Co-Director of the Stellenbosch Centre for Complex Systems in Transition.

- Prof Anton Eberhard, who the directs Managing Infrastructure Investment Reform Regulation In Africa (MIRA) at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. He is also chairing a team appointed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to advise on turning Eskom around and restructuring the power sector.

African Utility Week connects experts from the entire power, energy and water value chain, including:

·         BEHAVIOUR TRANSFORMATION: “We are inspired to ensure quality utilities are provided to Africa to give the individual the opportunity to independently manage their use of power and water, ensuring a sustainable future.”
- Jodie Sherwin Hill, Executive Director, Jomat Investments Pty (Ltd), and African Utility Week Advisory Board member.

·         WATER: “We need for water sectorial practitioners to join hands and force Governments to put the sector in the position where it rightly belongs and that is at the front of all sectors. This would allow the sector to enjoy priority in terms of investments, which was required yesteryear across Africa.”
- Gift Sageme, CEO at Malawi’s Central Region Water Board in Malawi and AUW Advisory Board member.

·         HYDROPOWER: “We are contracted by New Africa Power (Mauritius) to develop a 5 project 70MW portfolio of hydro power plants in Zambia. These projects are prepared for qualification under the KfW (German) GETFiT programme. This is a significant step for us and it is exciting to have been able to move beyond South Africa, take a step up in scale and to drive the innovation around our third generation of hydro IPPs.”
- Anton-Louis Olivier, MD, REH, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa Advisory Board member and previous winner of an AUW Industry Award for the top Small-Scale Sustainable Energy Project (under 5MW).

·         MINI GRIDS: “We have a very exciting project called ViDA (Village Data Analytics) around using satellites to streamline and optimise much of the mini-grid development cycle.”
- Dr Sam Duby, Africa Director, TFE Consulting and panellist at the upcoming African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in the Energy Revolution Africa session on “Driving demand and facilitate access to financing in rural areas”.

·         SMART ENERGY AND WATER: “We are presently implementing a pilot smart electric water heating project on our CSIR campus in Pretoria, assessing the potential energy savings and benefits in creating a flexible load utilising the considerable energy storage inherent with hot cylinder water heating.”
- Dr Clinton Carter-Brown, Head: Energy Centre, CSIR and AUW Advisory Board member.

·         WATER: “Cape Town is a good example that Africa has started to face the effects of climate change by investigating alternative water resources and minimizing the loss of non-revenue water and general water use.”
- Jan Kürstein, Hydrogeologist and Senior Consultant Water and Natural Resources at Rambøll in Denmark and speaker at the upcoming African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town in May.

·         TECHNOLOGY: “At Dromex we see African Utility Week as a point of unity for the African energy sector and an invaluable connection point for innovation and technology within the industry”
- Stel Stylianou, CEO of Dromex, platinum sponsors.

International pavilions
Apart from the official U.S. country pavilion at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa showcasing specialised technology and services for the utility, metering, renewable and water industries, country pavilions from Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India and Poland have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry support
A multi-award-winning conference and exhibition, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa has already secured early support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, Landis+Gyr, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare and Sulzer as gold sponsors.

The sixth edition of the annual African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards also returns to celebrate pioneering utilities, projects and people in the energy and water industry on the continent during 2018/2019.

CEO Forum
The Utility CEO Forum is an exclusive, by invitation only, gathering of regional utility CEOs within the power and energy sector providing a unique, safe space for discussion and debate the modern day challenges of their roles in running African utilities in a fast developing market with high political expectations and low returns within aging or no infrastructure. Confirmed industry expert and technology partners for this strategic gathering are Conlog, Eaton, Nyamezela, Ontec, Oracle and Steinmüller.

African Utility Week and the co-located POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining, real estate and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019  
Linkedin: African Utility Week

Contact:
Senior communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

South Africa is undergoing a massive shift toward constructing 'greener' buildings. We are seeing more innovative ways of erecting beautiful structures, both commercial and residential, whilst still protecting the environment and efficiently using energy, water and other resources.

uPVC Fenestration

uPVC Windows are one of the key ways of achieving better energy efficiency in buildings and achieving compliance with SANS 204. Adoption in South AfricauPVC has struggled in the last 10 years to gain strong market adoption due to a number of reasons, namely but not limited to:

• Misconceptions around the product being plastic and inferior to metal;
• Quality uPVC being more expensive than most aluminium products;
• Inadequate supply and support for the product.

Prominance aims to disrupt

Prominance Africa manufacture and install the most energy efficient uPVC windows and doors in South Africa. Our products have been accredited by the world's leading uPVC testing institutions and we are the only company in South Africa to surpass 13000 hours of artificial weathering testing, proving our unparalleled quality.

The company has a vision to make energy efficient fenestration affordable and accessible in South Africa.

Consider Prominance for you next project

You can find brochures, testing results and more information about us on our website.

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Address: 2 Station Road, Ballito, Dolphin Coast - 4420, South Africa
Telephone: +27 32 003 0986
Website: www.prominance.co.za

“Take-Care packages” support Premium Partners worldwide with the marketing of storage solutions 

Bad Staffelstein / Germany, July 13th, 2017 – IBC SOLAR AG, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage, supports its international Premium Partners with new service packages for lithium-ion storage systems. Installers in more than 30 countries are tapping into new business segments with the “Take-Care packages”. 

“We are an experienced partner with more than 7,000 installed storage systems of all sizes worldwide. Our international customers often express the wish to be supported when initially installing a lithium-ion storage system,” explains Albert Engelbrecht, Director Solutions International at IBC SOLAR. The company is now accommodating this request with the new service packages.

“The “Take-Care packages” help our partners with the planning, installation and maintenance of storage solutions and offer them important added value. The packages make it possible for our partners to implement the systems quickly and reliably and also ensure satisfied customers,” adds Engelbrecht. The customer decides which “Take-Care package” is the right one. Three versions are available “Essential”, “Empowering” and “Ensuring”.

The “Essential” basic package is also the basis for the two other packages. It includes an extensive pre-consultation session with technical pre-selection and sizing of the storage system. Fundamental questions about the application and expectations of the system will be resolved. It is important here to determine whether only the self-consumption needs to be increased or whether the storage system should also provide an emergency power supply.  The “Empowering” package involves IBC SOLAR also providing support with an extensive system design, circuit diagrams and parts lists as well as telephone support to help put the system into operation.

The “Ensuring” premium package also includes on-site support with a handover report and an optional workshop for service and maintenance work. IBC SOLAR has been active in the photovoltaic and battery storage sector for more than 35 years. The international partners will benefit from the company's years of experience in the storage segment with the new “Take-Care packages”. 

About IBC SOLAR
IBC SOLAR is a leading global provider of photovoltaic and energy storage solutions and services. The company offers complete systems and covers the entire product range from planning to the turnkey handover of photovoltaic systems. The product range comprises solar parks, self-consumption systems for commercial enterprises and private households, off-grid photovoltaic systems and diesel hybrid solutions.

As a project developer and general contractor, IBC SOLAR implements and markets major solar projects worldwide. The manufacturer-independent system house guarantees the highest quality for all projects and has currently implemented photovoltaic systems with an output of over 3 gigawatts worldwide. IBC SOLAR works with a close network of Premium Partners and supports them with their own software tools for planning and designing grid-connected systems including storage systems. IBC SOLAR offers customised packages for energy providers, municipal utilities and providers of photovoltaic solutions.

The company ensure the best possible output of solar parks through technical management and monitoring. IBC SOLAR was founded by Udo Möhrstedt in Bad Staffelstein in 1982 who has managed the company as the Chairman of the Executive Board to date. The system house is a pioneer of the energy turnaround in Germany and is especially committed to energy cooperatives with its own planned public solar parks. The company is represented internationally with numerous regional companies, sales offices and partner companies in more than 30 countries.

“Choosing the right oil is essential”

The award-winning African Utility Week has welcomed back a longstanding supporter, the global energy giant Shell, who will be a platinum sponsor again at the conference and exhibition from 16-18 May in Cape Town.

The 17th annual African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to source the latest solutions and meet over 300 suppliers. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a five track conference with over 300 expert speakers. The conference programme will address the latest challenges, developments and opportunities in the power and water sectors: ranging from generation, T&D, metering, technology and water.

“Choosing the right oil is essential”
“We are delighted to return for the third time as a platinum sponsor for African Utility Week,” says Tendani Ndwamise, Shell Lubes Direct Sector B2B Marketer at Shell South Africa. She continues: “in addition to hosting a booth with experts from our global and local business, we are proud to announce Dr. Peter Smith as a speaker for the event. He has over thirty years’ experience in the development of lubricants for use in the sector and will talk about how choosing the right oil is essential in meeting the challenges of the industry, both now and in the future.”

According to Tendani the main challenges currently in the industry are: ”providing sustainable power supply to the population, with aging infrastructure. This in turn leads to the challenge of lowering costs to produce, distribute and transmit power for our customers.  Shell aims to help its customers with sustainable lower total cost of ownership of their assets, through Shell’s sector expertise and industry knowledge in addition to our technology-leading products.”

She adds: “In the last five years, Shell has launched two new ranges of products for the power sector – Shell Diala S4 for use in transformers and Shell Turbo S4, our premium turbine oil range. In South Africa, we have been working closely with Eskom to conduct field trials for Shell Diala S4. We have had confirmation from Eskom that they approved the use of Shell Diala S4 ZX-IG in their fleet of transformers.  We have also supplied a number of projects in South Africa with our premium turbine oil, Shell Turbo S4, which provides superior performance in a number of key areas, compared to competitor oils.” 

On the rest of the continent, Shell has supplied a number of projects with both ranges, notably the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project and the Mega project in Egypt. “

African Utility Week is a high priority event for Shell” says Tendani, “as it gives us the opportunity to not only connect with manufacturers and utilities in South Africa, but also the wider African continent and also internationally. We are delighted that a number of our customers outside of Africa have also chosen to attend the event.”  

Award-winning energy platform
The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that are CPD accredited, free to attend, hands-on presentations that take place in defined spaces on the exhibition floor. They discuss practical, day-to-day technical topics, best practices and product solutions that businesses, large power users and utilities can implement in their daily operations. 

African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa is the flagship energy event organised by the multi-award winning Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and part of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. Other well-known energy events by Spintelligent are Future Energy Nigeria (formerly known as WAPIC), Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Future Energy Uganda and Future Energy Central Africa.

Earlier this year, Spintelligent won four major awards at AAXO’s ROAR Organiser and Exhibitor Awards, with African Utility Week named the joint winner for Best Trade Exhibition 6001-12000 sqm category (with the World Travel Market). 

Dates for African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa:
Conference and expo: 16-18 May 2017
Awards gala dinner:  17 May 2016
Site visits: 19 May 2016
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

The full interview with Tendani can be read here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/Shell-AUW-interview
Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities #AUW2017  
Linkedin: African Power Forum

Contact: Senior communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Expo and conference to focus on major industry trends  

“The power and energy landscape in Africa is undergoing significant change” says Evan Schiff, African Utility Week event director, adding that current trends include “the availability of private investment for power and energy projects, the fast development of energy storage, renewable energy is becoming cheaper, gas that is an increasingly attractive  mode of power generation in Africa, and that in the next 10 years, nuclear will become an increasingly important mode of base-load power generation.”

The investment, trade and development opportunities in the sub-Saharan Africa’s electricity sector are estimated at $835 billion of capital investment, $490 billion for generation capacity and $345 billion for infrastructure.

Real world doers share their expertise The 17th annual African Utility Week is the leading conference and trade exhibition for African power, energy and water professionals and takes place from 16-18 May 2017 at the CTICC in Cape Town. The event will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 40 countries to source the latest solutions and meet over 300 suppliers. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a seven track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

The conference programme will once again address the latest challenges, developments and opportunities in the power and water sectors: ranging from generation, T&D, metering, technology and water. These include two exclusive plenary keynote sessions featuring the most sought-after international speakers. Says Evan: “we are known for consistently gathering a group of industry elite real world doers who share their expertise from grid to socket, best practices for effective power and water supply. Once again, we will not disappoint.”  

KPMG is diamond sponsor Already leading global advisory firm KPMG has confirmed that it is returning to African Utility Week, this time as its exclusive diamond sponsorship. “KPMG’s commitment to create agile utilities in the energy sector across Sub-Saharan Africa, has motivated the firm to take up a diamond sponsorship opportunity at the 2017 African Utility Week” says Ahmed Jaffer, Chairman of KPMG in South Africa and the Head of Power and Utilities. He adds: “African Utility Week is a great platform that attracts key decision makers within the sector.”

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical programme sessions that are CPD accredited, free to attend, hands-on presentations that take place in defined spaces on the exhibition floor. They discuss practical, day-to-day technical topics, best practices and product solutions that businesses, large power users and utilities can implement in their daily operations.  

New platform: Energy Revolution Africa
“Another strong trend in the sector” says Evan Schiff “is that the energy consumer is becoming more aware of their environment and how their power is generated and distributed, whether they are a residential home, a mine, a village, a shopping centre or manufacturing plant. Cleaner, more affordable energy generating options will increasingly become the norm rather than the exception. All these factors will mean that the utility as we know it will not look the same within 10 years… change will happen.  We are therefore launching Energy Revolution Africa, a new platform for community scale projects.”

Energy Revolution Africa will provide a unique forum for solution providers to meet with the new energy purchasers such as metros and municipalities, IPPs, rural electrification project developers and large power users, including mines, commercial property developers and industrial manufacturers. The latest innovations and projects in the sectors of renewables, future technology, energy efficiency, micro/off-grid and energy storage will be showcased”.

More side events as part of the African Utility Week platform include:

- African Power Finance & Investment Forum: Financiers and project owners will hear from expert speakers who will identify the key trends impacting project finance in regional energy markets with updates on and insights into market opportunities, sources of capital, financing instruments and access to project finance. A featured session on regional power integration will explore new methods of developing cross-border power projects on a PPP basis, explore the opportunities for investors, and show how regional power integration can substantially save capital investment costs.

- The Gas-to-Power World Congress reflects the continuing transformation of the energy ecosystem in Africa and beyond. Gas and renewables are perfect partners to help address an array of future energy challenges, including climate change, energy security and energy finance, currently three of the world’s largest and most important challenges. The event will look at new business and investment opportunities in gas-to-power, energy infrastructure, FSRU, LPG and LNG.  

-  The Utility CEO Forum is held as a 3-day by invitation only board meeting alongside African Utility Week, where the men and women who lead and guide Africa’s power and water sectors discuss the path of transformation. Discussions centre on areas of co-operation, development plans and the advancement of regional centres of excellence throughout Africa.  

-  The Nuclear Power Africa Conference features expert speakers who will address the myths and realities, latest technologies, regulatory and financing challenges and the economic spin offs created by a nuclear new build programme. Nuclear stakeholders and prospective suppliers will gain first hand insights into prospects for new jobs, training programmes, and the business opportunities created by the localisation of the supply chain of a nuclear new build.  

-  The fourth edition of the African Utility Week Power Industry Awards brings together 800 of Africa’s most renowned power and water industry professionals. The Power Industry Awards is the leading gathering to recognise, reward and celebrate the successes of Africa’s power and water sectors during 2016/17.  

-  Africa Utilities Technology Council: Telecommunications/ICT conference track programme to be presented that will cover topics such as: IT/OT convergence, IP networks and utility telecoms network performance measures. The AUTC content will continue in three dedicated sessions – one each in the T&D, Metering and Water tracks of the main strategic conference.  

-    Power Africa - Women in Power Lunch
-    West African Investment Breakfast Briefing
-    East African Investment Breakfast Briefing

Industry support
Apart from KPMG’s diamond sponsorship, long-running supporters and industry stalwarts EPG and Landis+Gyr are also back as platinum sponsors while Conlog, Poweroad, Vodacom and Sensus are gold sponsors again.

African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. Other flagship events in Spintelligent’s power portfolio are East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC), West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC), iPAD Rwanda Power & Mining Investment Forum and iPAD Cameroon Energy & Infrastructure Forum.

Dates for African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa:
Conference and expo: 16-18 May 2017
Awards gala dinner:  17 May 2016
Site visits: 19 May 2016
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Websites: http://www.african-utility-week.com   
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities  
Linkedin: African Power Forum

Contact:
Senior communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    

“Exciting to see that intra-African investment is gaining momentum”

“Investing in the power sector in Africa can be very lucrative and we have the success stories to prove it”, says Evan Schiff, event director of African Utility Week, taking place in Cape Town from 12-14 May. During the largest annual power and water conference and expo on the continent, a high-level Finance & Investment Forum will specifically focus on project finance, risk management, IPPs and case studies.

Says Evan Schiff: “$42 billion a year will be required to meet Africa’s energy demand by 2040, including a private-sector financing increase of up to ten times the current levels. In order to achieve this governments and business must work together and fresh approaches will be vital.”

He continues: “private equity fund raising for Africa increased by 136% in 2013 to US$3.3bn, up from US$1.4bn a year earlier. Greater private sector participation and competition has been encouraged through power sector reform and long-term power purchase agreements through the state utility or other credible off-takers. IPPs are considered a solution to persistent supply constraints. It is also exciting to see that intra-African investment is gaining momentum. African investors nearly tripled their share of FDI projects over the last decade, from 8.0% in 2003 to 22.8% in 2013 according to EY’s latest attractiveness survey.”

The Finance & Investment Forum will also have a special focus on renewables and innovative ways of financing green energy while creating sustainable jobs. Evan Schiff adds: “with the African Development Bank SE4LL Fund recently confirming a $777,000 preparation grant to support a 72MW solar power plant project to become the first renewable IPP in Cameroon, it shows that there are creative investment vehicles and initiatives out there for energy projects on the continent that previously were considered too marginal for project financing”.

Bringing deals to point of bankability
Power Africa, US President Barack Obama’s initiative to improve access to power in sub-Saharan Africa, will be the official country partner of African Utility Week. Power Africa works with African governments, the private sector, and other partners to add more than 30,000 megawatts (MW) of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity as well as increase electricity access by adding 60 million new home and business connections throughout all of sub-Saharan Africa.

Andrew Herscowitz is the coordinator for Power Africa and panellist at the Finance & Investment Forum: ”we’ve seen that there is plenty of investor interest in the continent and there are plenty of people with great ideas and potential to execute power projects, but the problem that we see is getting those deals to the point of bankability.  So I really see that Power Africa has this sweet spot, working with all of our partners including the World Bank, which committed USD5-billion, the African Development Bank which committed USD3-billion, the government of Sweden that committed a USD1-billion, and our private sectors partners that committed over USD20-billion. I think we have this opportunity to align our efforts to figure out what role we can play to bring those projects to bankability so that investors will find a place to put their money.”

More speaker and programme highlights at the Finance & Investment Forum:
•    Case Study:  Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, Kenya
-    Erik Wandrag, Senior Investment Director for Energy, Harith General Partners

•    Case Study: Gigawatt Global, Scatec Solar and Norfund PV Park, Rwanda
-    Chaim Motzen, Managing Director, Gigawatt Global Coöperatief UA (GWG) Rwanda

•    Case Study: “Develop your clean energy projects into bankable opportunities”
-    Peter Ballinger, Managing Director, Africa, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, USA

•    Panel discussion: “The fundamentals you must consider for structuring a bankable PPA”
-    Moderator: Gregory Nott, Director, Africa, Norton Rose Fulbright, South Africa
Open floor discussion on fixed tariffs, foreign exchange, transmission and grid connection risk, off-taker payment support, political FM, dispatch risk, put call option agreements (PCOA) and other PPA elements.

•    Inge Stølen, Senior Investment Manager, Clean Energy, Norfund, Norway
•    Marc Leistner, Deputy Head of Regional Representation for Africa, European Investment Bank, South Africa
•    Roland Janssens, Deputy Head: Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, Frontier Markets Fund Managers, UK
•    Eric Olojugba, Chief Commercial Officer, North South Power/Shiroro GENCO, Nigeria

Utility professionals from across the globe
The 15th African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa bring together utility professionals from across the globe to learn, share knowledge and debate the key topics that will secure the future development of Africa’s power and water industries. The event is expected to again attract more than 5000 attendees and features 250 exhibitors, 190 speakers, eight conferences, free technical workshops on the expo floor, three high-profile plenary sessions and the coveted industry awards gala dinner.

DNV-GL has already confirmed its exclusive diamond sponsorship of the event while Accenture, Building Energy, MarelliMotori and Edison Power Group are the platinum sponsors.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa dates and location:  
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015
Location:  CTICC, Cape Town
Website:  www.african-utility-week.com   
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities

Contact:
Communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone: +27 21 700 3558
Mobile: +27 82 562 7844
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes for Editor
Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd is an African media business, specialising in Exhibitions, Conferences and Publishing. Head-quartered in Cape Town with a team of 90 experienced professionals, Spintelligent is a dynamic and recognised organiser across multiple industry sectors and geographies. A specialist organiser with the ability to deliver key growth projects in the early emerging markets of the African continent. Spintelligent is the African partner office of Clarion Events Ltd, the UK based organiser operating in 36 countries worldwide with 9 subsidiary offices delivering over 500 exhibitions and conferences annually.Spintelligent delivers projects in African growth industry sectors; Power & Utilities; Energy; Mining; Education & Careers; Agriculture; Infrastructure; Military & Defence. Spintelligent delivers projects in the emerging African markets; South Africa; Nigeria; Ghana; Kenya; Tanzania; DRC; Angola; Mozambique; Zambia.

“We look forward to the Department engaging with the industry and to join the debate”

South Africa’s Department of Energy is throwing its full weight behind efforts by the utility industry to find urgent and sustainable solutions to current energy challenges, says African Utility Week event director Evan Schiff. The Department has committed to a three-year partnership with the conference and exhibition that annually attracts more than 5000 power professionals from across the globe and takes place from 12-14 May in Cape Town.

“We take this official host ministry partnership with the Department as seriously as they do”, says Evan Schiff. He adds: “not only will the Honourable Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson address our opening session, she will attend our unique CEO Forum, that brings together utility leaders from across the continent. Moreover, as a member of our Advisory Board, the department is helping to shape the conference programme and set the debate agenda. This fits seamlessly with our aim to remain relevant and be an event for and by the industry. We have similar partnerships with various integral industry bodies such as Eskom, Power Africa, SAEEC, SAAMA and the City of Cape Town.”

“Department engaging with the industry”
Says Evan Schiff: “every year African Utility Week gathers the industry to learn, share knowledge and debate the key topics that will secure the future development of Africa’s power and water industries. Topics will range from regional collaboration in the power sector to the untapped potential of renewable energy and investment challenges.”

He adds: “We look forward to the Department engaging with the industry and to join the debate to find creative and sustainable solutions to the energy challenges we all face. We are excited to have the Department as an official partner of such a long-standing event as African Utility Week that has become an important fixture and meeting place on the energy calendar for the continent.”

More event highlights
The 15th African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa is expected to again attract more than 5000 attendees and feature 250 exhibitors, 190 speakers, eight conferences, free technical workshops on the expo floor, site visits, three high-profile plenary sessions and the coveted industry awards gala dinner.

DNV-GL has already confirmed its exclusive diamond sponsorship of the event while Accenture, Building Energy, MarelliMotori, Rubbytad and Edison Power Group are the platinum sponsors.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa dates and location:
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015
Location: CTICC, Cape Town
Website: www.african-utility-week.com

Contact:
Communications manager: Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone : +27 21 700 3558
Mobile: +27 82 562 7844
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes for Editor
Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd is an African media business, specialising in Exhibitions, Conferences and Publishing. Head-quartered in Cape Town with a team of 90 experienced professionals, Spintelligent is a dynamic and recognised organiser across multiple industry sectors and geographies. A specialist organiser with the ability to deliver key growth projects in the early emerging markets of the African continent.

Spintelligent is the African partner office of Clarion Events Ltd, the UK based organiser operating in 36 countries worldwide with 9 subsidiary offices delivering over 500 exhibitions and conferences annually.

Spintelligent delivers projects in African growth industry sectors; Power & Utilities; Energy; Mining; Education & Careers; Agriculture; Infrastructure; Military & Defence. Spintelligent delivers projects in the emerging African markets; South Africa; Nigeria; Ghana; Kenya; Tanzania; DRC; Angola; Mozambique; Zambia.

Spintelligent is recognised for its print and electronic publications, with market-leading brands including Metering International, ESI Africa and Mining Review Africa. Its regular global events and exhibitions, as well as its critical business intelligence and integrated marketing services make it a leader in its field. The company’s highly skilled resources in management, marketing, research and production allow for unique products bridging the developed and developing markets.

www.spintelligent.com
www.african-utility-week.com/Pages/Detail/17902

“The community really enjoyed the whole process and supported us”

“It has changed my life a lot, it is seriously much better. I am more independent now with my own electricity,” says 35-year-old Monier Larry who lives in the backyard of a council house in Albecore Street in Factreton, a northern suburb of Cape Town. His dwelling is one of hundreds that has been provided with electricity, water, sanitation and waste services by the City of Cape Town.

Due to the wide spread occurrence of informal dwellings in the backyards of houses in formal townships, the mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, saw the need to improve the circumstances of the many so-called backyarders living on council property. In October 2011, the City Council gave the green light to continue with three pilot sites, namely Factreton, Hanover Park and Langa.  The latter was later withdrawn due to consumer resistance. 13.6% of the national population lives in informal housing including backyards.

According to Hein Boshoff, Head: Electricity Distribution Area North at the City of Cape Town, a total of 188 backyarder dwellings in Factreton have so far been provided with electricity while 984 dwellings in Hanover Park have been connected. He adds: ”the two pilot backyarder projects, each with their own challenges, proved to be successful and Council is continuing with this approach in areas where the community is willing to accept these improvements. The Electricity department will be attending to two other areas for backyarder supply: Parkwood and Bonteheuwel.”

“Much easier since I have my own box now” Monier Larry, who looks after his two-year-old daughter Isis, says he has been a backyarder for more than 20 years. He now has a light and an electricity box in his shack and the council installed a sink with tap and a toilet in the backyard. He explains: “we used to get electricity from the house inside and it used to be a bit of a problem. Sometimes it would trip or they would complain that we use too much electricity or you did not know how much electricity you were using. It is much easier since I have my own box now.”

Next door, 31-year-old Teresa Gordam agrees. She shares a backyard dwelling with her boyfriend and young cousin. “When I moved in here they were busy installing the new services. It is so much more convenient for us to have our own toilet, tap and electricity connection in the back because the people in the main house would not allow me inside to use the toilet and water.”  

Community engagement The infrastructure that had to be put in place includes the removal of the midblock supply to the street front in Factreton. The City of Cape Town’s Hein Boshoff explains that “a new design was also necessary to account for the increased demand in supplying up to three Backyarder dwellings per council rental unit with electricity. This resulted in the strengthening of the backbone of the network and substations. New street lighting was also installed.”

All Backyarder projects are funded through the Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG).

Part of the success of the backyarder programme has been the community engagement aspect and according to Hein Boshoff “the community really enjoyed the whole process and supported us in this whole venture to uplift the social environment for them.” He says the initiative changed the lives of the backyarders with regards to “safety around their homes as there is no more dangerous wiring from the main dwelling, social upliftment  - the EPWP Expanded Public Works Programme allowed for work opportunities, improved living conditions – alleviating poverty through subsidised electricity connections - and no more exploitation by the main occupants.”

African Utility Week
Hein Boshoff will discuss this successful project as a featured speaker during the Transmission & Distribution and Smart Grids session of the upcoming African Utility Week conference and expo at the CTICC in Cape Town from 12-14 May. During a technical site visit on 15 May, conference delegates will also have the opportunity to visit the Factreton site to see the improved infrastructure for themselves and meet some of the backyarders. Last year, the City of Cape Town was named top municipality at the African Utility Week Awards.

Gathering thousands of energy professionals
For the past 14 years, the African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition has helped to reduce the energy consumption of commercial and industrial large power users and has assisted in African utilities providing electricity and water to all of Africa. The event brings together thousands of utility professionals from across the globe to learn, share knowledge and debate the key topics that will secure the future development of Africa’s power industry. These include energy efficiency, improved service delivery, renewable energy and collaboration across the continent and investment in new power projects. South Africa’s state utility Eskom has been a key partner for many years.

DNV-GL has already confirmed its exclusive diamond sponsorship of the event while Accenture, Building Energy, Edison Power Group, MarelliMotori and Rubbytad are the platinum sponsors.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa is organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. 

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa dates and location: 
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015 Location:  CTICC, Cape Town
Website:  www.african-utility-week.com

Contact:
Communications manager: Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone: +27 21 700 3558
Mobile: +27 82 562 7844
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes for Editor
Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd is an African media business, specialising in Exhibitions, Conferences and Publishing. Head-quartered in Cape Town with a team of 90 experienced professionals, Spintelligent is a dynamic and recognised organiser across multiple industry sectors and geographies.

A specialist organiser with the ability to deliver key growth projects in the early emerging markets of the African continent. Spintelligent is the African partner office of Clarion Events Ltd, the UK based organiser operating in 36 countries worldwide with 9 subsidiary offices delivering over 500 exhibitions and conferences annually.

Spintelligent delivers projects in African growth industry sectors; Power & Utilities; Energy; Mining; Education & Careers; Agriculture; Infrastructure; Military & Defence. Spintelligent delivers projects in the emerging African markets; South Africa; Nigeria; Ghana; Kenya; Tanzania; DRC; Angola; Mozambique; Zambia.

Spintelligent is recognised for its print and electronic publications, with market-leading brands including Metering International, ESI Africa and Mining Review Africa.

Its regular global events and exhibitions, as well as its critical business intelligence and integrated marketing services make it a leader in its field. The company’s highly skilled resources in management, marketing, research and production allow for unique products bridging the developed and developing markets.

Website: www.spintelligent.com
www.african-utility-week.com/pages/detail/17625