“I still have a good laugh every now and then when I enter a meeting and they assume I am either our CEO’s PA or the ‘marketing lady’,” says Zelda Weitz, COO of Symbion Power LLC, an independent power producer on the continent. She has lived, worked and travelled in 29 countries in Africa and says while things are changing, there is still a certain perception of roles that women are expected to perform in the sector: 

“I was once at a project meeting where the client asked me to take the notes, because I was the only female present. He blushed afterwards when I gave him my business card. You develop a thick skin and maintain a good sense of humour. That said, I am not scared to make coffee for my colleagues and most of the time at meetings you will find the females taking minutes or arranging the logistics alongside their real day jobs. Women really are good with attention to details and are very good at adapting in challenging environments. “

She adds: “it is, however, a nice challenge to be in the sector and in Symbion specifically, women are given many opportunities to grow. Our Country Manager in Madagascar is a female and we have a lady in our control room at the Mandroseza power plant in Tana. In Kenya our team is 50% female, to mention but a couple of examples.  I remember the days of visiting our construction sites in remote locations and the guys being surprised that I visited those sites that the Construction Directors did not bother to visit.  I do see more female engineers, technicians and managers in the sector and at events nowadays. Things are changing.” Read full interview here.

The Symbion Power COO is a delegate at this year’s African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town from 14-16 May where women in the sector are celebrated and making a valuable contribution to the programme. This includes a “Women in Power Lunch”, hosted by the Canadian government and USA’s Power Africa initiative, focusing on “Capturing the Value of Private Sector Investment in Generation, Transmission or Distribution” and how women are taking the lead in the power sector.

Breaking new ground
Sindi Mzamo, Director at Divaine Growth Solutions, says “my journey started as a COO and Head of Marketing of the Edison Power Group and I was the first and only woman among the five directors on the board of the Edison Power Group. My vision has always been to break new ground for South Africa’s black people, particularly women in the business and economic arenas particularly in the energy sector.” Ms Mzamo is an event ambassador for and partner of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa. As part of this partnership, eight SMEs that are owned by women and are operating in the energy sector will be part of the Initiate! pavilion at the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa exhibition floor.

She adds: “Divaine Growth Solutions is currently running an 18 month Female Development Programme focusing on emancipation and empowerment of women-owned businesses within the energy sector. The vision for the programme is to provide needed support to these SMEs from industry related information, access to market, access to financial information, network and possible venture opportunities. I think having a programme like this will not only encourage the current women in the sector but will also attract the upcoming young women leaders to pursue careers within the energy space.” Read full interview here.

“Not so much an issue anymore”
Penny Herbst, Strategy Director at Africa GreenCo and a 30-year veteran of the energy industry says that based on her experience at Eskom: “women have been making a contribution in the utility environment across various disciplines for quite some time and I think it has got to a point, especially from the utility’s point for view that it is not so much of an issue anymore.”

She continues: “I am not sure I can say as much for the private sector especially as it pertains to my across-discipline remark, but I stand to be corrected. However, from a visibility point of view it still seems to be a man’s world. I would like to qualify this statement in one respect, I see far more women being entrepreneurial in the energy space and starting businesses as opposed to there being a real visible change in the energy corporate / IPP space.  Progress has to include mechanisms to measure and monitor sustainability and further define what exactly is meant by gender parity and remuneration thereof. Regarding my remark re the private sector, perhaps I will be proved wrong and I hope so – let’s see what the mix is like at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa!” Read full interview here.

At the upcoming event in Cape Town later this month, Ms Herbst will moderate a conference session on financing renewable projects.

Diverse status quo
“Gender diversity is a no-brainer,” says Miriam Mannak, a freelance energy correspondent and event ambassador, “particularly considering the large numbers of women graduating from university. What applies to companies, applies to entire sectors. Africa's energy sector will not be able to develop, progress, and remain competitive and relevant if it refuses to transform and move on from being predominantly male-based structure to a diverse status quo. This is 2019, after all.” Read full interview here.

The 19th edition of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, the continent’s leading sector conference and exhibition, is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

African Utility Week and 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.  

The organisers of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, have announced that they have entered into a media partnership with the weekly news publication and online portal, The Mail & Guardian, in the run-up to the event that is taking place from 14-16 May in Cape Town.

The South African Minister of Energy, Honourable Jeff Radebe, is heading up a stellar line up of expert speakers and will once again deliver the opening ministerial address on 14 May. The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

“The Mail & Guardian brand and tradition is one of quality, no question” says African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa event director Evan Schiff, “it’s a proudly and quintessentially South African weekly institution of quality, informed and unbiased political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular culture. Its pioneering role to migrate its news and content offering to the online space has also been unparalleled. African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is proud to be part of the M&G’s special Energy Supplements to reach our target audience in the run-up to the event in May.”

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 Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Poland and Russia have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry and institutional 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, GE, Landis+Gyr, SAP, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, ADC Energy, Sulzer and Toshiba as gold sponsors. The South African Ministry of Energy is the host ministry of the event, Eskom the host utility while Cape Town is the host city.

African Utility Week and 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. 

“Drought has exposed the poor, or lack of, water management”  

“The drought that has impacted many regions within South Africa for a considerable length of time now has exposed the poor, or lack of, water management (monitoring and control) ability of many water institutions, as well as the difficulties and inability of municipalities and their consumers to be able to reduce their consumption when required” says Steve Gillham, General Manager: Engineering and Scientific Services, Umgeni Water and advisory board member of African Utility Week, the leading annual conference and exhibition with a strong focus on water management, taking place in Cape Town in May.

He adds: “there are many hard lessons being learnt by the affected water institutions that need to be shared and documented to improve the response for future drought events. Responses have come from national, provincial, water boards and municipalities to dry to address the situation. Certain initiatives have been more effective than others”.  

Water becoming scarce commodity
It may come as a surprise to some that globally South Africa is classified as a water-stressed country, with annual rainfall of about 492 millimetres compared to other areas with around 985 millimetres. The Western Cape is in a situation where the threat of water shedding is looming and currently on high alert with level 3B water restrictions.

“This vital resource needs our help!“ says Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl, editor of ESI-Africa, a leading power and water trade publication and session chair at African Utility Week, “and considering that water is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity, time has come for us to become extra mindful of our water usage as a way of life going forward, even after the restrictions are lifted in the future.” She explains: “the question to ask yourself is what your household and company are using potable water resources on. We were in a similar situation with electricity load shedding and rallied around backup generators, energy efficient light bulbs and switching off equipment in standby mode.”

Let us not fall back into old habits”
“The same applies to water” Nicolette adds, “the solutions are endless and people are coming up with innovative ways to manage their water usage more effectively, such as attaching extension pipes to outlets to run grey water straight into the garden. Incidentally, research has shown that gardens, toilets, baths and showers use the most water. So concentrate on managing these areas. Consider putting a layer of mulch around trees and plants to slow evaporation, choose water wise plants, opt for a rock garden instead or find alternatives such as artificial grass.”  

ESI Africa’s editor says: “Around the house fix dripping taps, do not let the water run whilst brushing your teeth or washing your hands. Try a ‘dry’ shower by turning off taps whilst soaping up – be bold, inventive and imagine a life without water as your inspiration.”  

She adds: “it is also very inspiring to hear about big apartment blocks in the city that have organised to give all the residents a big 10 litre bucket each to collect their grey water which is then used to water the gardens and used to clean the building and outside facilities.” “Let’s use our social media (neighbourhood Facebook and Whatsapp groups) to help each other manage this precious resource more efficiently. And most importantly, when the rain does come, let us not fall back into old habits. And let’s not forget that South Africa is celebrating the annual National Water Week next month from 16-19 March to raise awareness while World Water Day takes place on 22 March.”

Managing water services better
“Drinking water and wastewater utilities in Africa are struggling to cope with the increasing demand for services, especially in rapidly growing urban areas” says Evan Schiff, event director of African Utility Week. He continues: “responding adequately to this ever increasing demand necessitates strong and active partnerships between the private sector in particular and municipal governments”.

The water track at African Utility Week will bring together experts from public and private sectors to support utilities and municipalities become more responsive and efficient in their practices.  

Leading water and energy platform
African Utility Week takes place from 16-18 May 2017 at the CTICC in Cape Town, gathering over 7000 decision makers in the power and water sectors from more than 40 countries to source the latest solutions and meet over 300 suppliers. The expo will feature free to attend technical workshops and technology demonstrations.

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. Other long-running supporters and industry stalwarts EPG, Landis+Gyr, Ontec and Shell are also back as platinum sponsors while Conlog, Oracle and Vodacom are gold sponsors again.

Part of the event is Energy Revolution Africa, a new platform for community scale projects, which 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.

African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa are organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the infrastructure, real estate, energy, mining, agriculture and education sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Agritech Expo Tanzania, CBM-TEC, Kenya Mining Forum, Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Future Energy Nigeria (formerly WAPIC), Future Energy Central Africa (formerly iPAD Cameroon), iPAD Nigeria Mining Forum, DRC Mining Week and EduWeek. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group.

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.

“I know the energy revolution is powering up and ready to take off”  

“Everyone who was part of this year’s African Utility Week felt the same passion for the energy and water sectors on the continent and had the feeling that we are on the brink of enormous progress“, says Evan Schiff, event director of the African Utility Week conference and exhibition that took place in Cape Town and gathered a record 6445 attendees from 17-19 May.

“Technology, water and renewable energy were strong themes this year,” Schiff adds “and there’s no doubt that renewable energy as well as smart technology are changing the way power and water utilities operate and deal with their customers.”

There are big plans in the offing for next year: “as the industry evolves, so will the event” says the African Utility Week event director, “our exhibition will be even bigger next year as we grow into the new expo space at the CTICC to reflect the new markets and developments in the sector, including a focus on non-utility scale projects, large power users, rooftop solar installations, energy storage, lighting products, independent power producers (IPPs) and EPCs (engineering, procurement and construction).”

The event featured 250 exhibitors from 40 countries, 299 speakers who addressed the packed strategic conference over three days in six different topic streams while inspiring industry pioneers engaged the audiences in the daily high-profile keynote sessions. African Utility Week addressed the latest challenges, developments and opportunities in the power and water sectors: ranging from generation, transmission & distribution, metering, clean energy, finance and investment, water supply and energy efficiency.

“The energy revolution is powering up”
A notable presence at the CTICC in Cape Town this year was Sierra Leone’s Dr Kandeh Yumkella, UN Under-Secretary-General and Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General and CEO, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), who not only made a lasting impression during the opening day’s keynote session but also won the Lifetime Achievement category at the African Utility Week Industry Awards.  On receiving his award Dr Yumkella said: “I know the energy revolution is powering up and ready to take off. We saw again this week that we have the technology and the innovation. Sometimes we are too suspicious of each other, we should embrace energy trade with each other”.

Other award winners included Johannesburg’s City Power (Utility of the Year), Uganda’s National Water and Sewerage Company (Water Utility of the Year), and Akon Lighting (Clean Energy Project of the Year) reflecting the enormous pan-African progress in the energy and water sectors.

The sold-out exhibition also featured country pavilions from Germany, India, The Netherlands, France, South Africa and China. There were dozens of packed, free-to-attend CPD-accredited technical workshops on the expo floor, product demonstrations and technical site visits. Attendees at African Utility Week came from more than 81 countries, including 27 African nations, and 79 power and water utilities were represented.

Annual industry platform
An important part of this year’s growth at the event were the many side events from the industry that have turned African Utility Week into an annual industry platform in the Mother City. These included the Oil & Gas Council’s Cape Town Assembly, KPMG’s IPP Conference, Nuclear Power Africa, the Standard Transfer Specification Association’s AGM, PIESA and International Cleantech Network gatherings. South Africa’s Department of Energy also launched its new energy efficiency label that will become mandatory for household appliances with Energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson revealing the new label at African Utility Week.

African Utility Week 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. The event forms part of a global energy event series, including European Utility Week, Australian Utility Week, Asian Utility Week and Latin American Utility Week. Other African 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 2017
Conference and expo: 16-18 May 2017
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

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

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.

“I know the energy revolution is powering up and ready to take off”

Sierra Leone’s Kandeh Yumkella of the Sustainable Energy For All Initiative, Johannesburg’s City Power, George Airport and Akon Lighting are just some of the exciting and pioneering power and water professionals, utilities and projects that were winners in this year’s African Utility Week Industry Awards. Uganda’s NWSC won the coveted water utility of the year award for the second year in a row.

The winners of these prestigious industry awards in 11 different categories were announced at the gala dinner that took place on Wednesday evening, 18 May, during the annual African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa at the CTICC in Cape Town. More than 5000 power and water professionals gathered in Cape Town for the event.

Mr Kandeh Yumkella, UN Under-Secretary-General and Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General and CEO, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), won the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also an inspired keynote speaker on the opening day of African Utility Week on Tuesday. On receiving his award Mr Yumkella said: “I know the energy revolution is powering up and ready to take off. We saw again this week that we have the technology and the innovation. Sometimes we are too suspicious of each other, we should embrace energy trade with each other”.

City Power = Utility of the Year
City Power won the award for Power Utility of the Year, particularly in recognition of the utility’s flagship Solar Water Heating Programme in which approximately 70 000 low income households around Johannesburg were fitted with solar water geysers over a period of three years.

Says Sicelo Xulu, City Power Managing Director: “We are pleased that once again the diligent work that has been done by the City Power team has been recognized and acknowledged. This award is an affirmation of the hard work that has been done by the City Power team, and this accolade galvanizes us to work harder to provide our customers with the superior service they deserve.”

The winners and finalists for the third annual African Utility Week Industry Awards are:

Category: Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General.
As Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Chief Executive Officer of the initiative, he mobilized global action towards a sustainable energy future and was responsible for the planning and implementation of the initiative as well as engaging with the leadership of relevant stakeholders in government, businesses, academia and civil society at the highest level to advocate for and promote sustainable energy for all. 

With over 25 years of international experience, Dr. Yumkella previously served as Director-General of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for two four-year terms (2005-2013). Dr. Yumkella is co-Founder of the African Energy Leaders Group and is a Commissioner at the Energy Transitions Commission. A recipient of numerous international awards, he is a former Minister for Trade, Industry and State Enterprises of Sierra Leone.

Finalists:
- Akinwole Omoboriowo II, Chairman & CEO, Genesis Energy, Nigeria
- Albert Butare, CEO & Chairman, Africa Energy Services Group Ltd, Rwanda
- Anton Eberhard, Professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Elham Mahmood Ahmed Ibrahim, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union, Ethiopia
- Grania Rosette Rubomboras, Program Officer: Power Projects, Nile Basin Initiative NELSAP, Uganda
- Hamanth Kasan, General Manager: Scientific Services Water, Rand Water, South Africa
- Henry Paul Batchi Baldeh, Senior Vice President/Head: Power, Africa Finance Corporation, Nigeria
- Hindpal S. Jabbal, Former Chairman, Energy Regulatory Commission, Kenya
- Jacob Kow Mensah, Clean and Alternative Energy Researcher/Inventor, Sustainable Energy and Environment Project, Ghana

Category: Power Utility of the Year
Winner:  City Power, South Africa - In a flagship Solar Water Heating Programme approximately 70 000 low income households around Johannesburg were fitted with solar water geysers over a period of three years. This project generated 20 000 job opportunities and was one of the biggest projects of its kind in South Africa. The installation of smart meters has gone a long way in improving billing accuracy and enhancing City’s revenue collection capabilities. Over 92 000 smart meters have been rolled out across Johannesburg, and the target is to deploy 250 000 meters by mid-2016.

Finalists:
- Ghana Grid Company Limited, Ghana
- KenGen, Kenya
- Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited, Kenya
- Volta River Authority, Ghana

Category: Power Utility Executive of the Year
Winner:  Mr Albert Mugo, MD & CEO KenGen, Kenya – Mr Mugo has worked in the energy sector for over 30 years. In January 2014, he was appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of KenGen where he is currently leading a team of Executive Directors in the mandate of rapidly increasing electricity generation capacity that Kenya needs in order to achieve its 2030 Vision. In this position, he is executing a strategy of least cost power development options in order to provide reliable, safe and competitively priced energy to the nation.

Finalists:
- Phillip Dukashe, Project Director, Eskom, South Africa   
- Selestino Babungi, MD & CEO, Umeme, Uganda   
- William Amuna, CEO, GRIDCo, Ghana   

Category: Water Utility of the Year
Winner: The National Water & Sewerage Corporation, Uganda - In 2015, the NWSC cemented its position as a key player in the water sector both on the local and international scene. They undertook transformational changes in its operational and geographical mandate, providing new and home grown solutions to water service provision challenges and highlighting its contribution towards the National Vision of transforming Uganda from a peasant to a self-sustaining economy.

Finalists:
- Moshi Urban Water and Sewerage Authority, Tanzania
- Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Kenya
- Rand Water, South Africa
- Umgeni Water, South Africa

Category: Water Utility Executive of the Year
Winner: Engr. Philip Gichuki, the Managing Director of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company Ltd. The utility is the sole provider of water and sewerage services to the City of Nairobi with a population of about 3.8 million. He has over the years promoted the objective of the water sector in Kenya in improving access to water and sewerage services for all under a conducive environment for the consumers, communities, partners and staff working in the sector.

Finalists:
- David Onyango, Managing Director, Kisumu Water & Sewerage, Kenya   
- Silver Mugisha, Managing Director, National Water & Sewerage Corporation, Uganda   

Category: Clean Energy Project of the Year
Winner: The Akon Lighting Africa Initiative – the project is implementing an innovative solar-powered solution that is providing African villages with access to a clean and affordable source of electricity. Since launching, the group has operations in 15 nations, including Guinea Conakry, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Benin and Sierra Leone and is covering over 480 communities.

Finalists:
- ACWA Power, Solafrica Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power Project, South Africa
- Mobisol, Off-grid solar system, Tanzania
- NVI Energy, “Pay as you use” Solar Project, Kenya
- Vuselela Energy, Eternity Power Thermal Harvesting™, South Africa

Category: Pioneer in Project Finance
Winner:  The Development Bank of Southern Africa - the DBSA has developed an innovative financing instrument to support local parties and communities to acquire equity stakes in companies. The success of the business model is that the local partners then are included in the overall financing package leading to an overall sustainable financing package. The model can be replicated and the DBSA has already replicated it in 17 projects with a capacity of 2100 MW and continues to be duplicated in other transactions.

“More than anything it is a testament to the hard work of the energy team and visionary leadership of the DBSA in addressing South Africa’s energy challenge” said Lungile Mashele, Energy Specialist at DBSA, who received the award on behalf of the bank. She added: “the DBSA is responding to the call of Government to support the renewable projects and would also like to get involved in projects beyond South Africa’s borders.”

Finalists:
- African Development Bank
- Danida Business Finance
- FMO
- International Finance Corporation & Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Category: Community Development Project of the Year
Winner:  The Noble Water Solutions – The Noble Power Station is the only high volume, low-maintenance, portable solar-powered water treatment plant of its kind in the world. Each water station provides 500 people with 20 litres of safe drinking water every day for life. “We have a huge problem in Africa and we have to recognise that” said Kevin Paxton, CEO of Noble Water Solutions, “a third of the continent, that is 300 million people, do not have access to safe drinking water. We cannot develop as a continent unless we solve this problem. Our invention goes some way to addressing this problem, but where there is no political will, it will not happen.” This is Noble Water Solutions’ tenth award for its work in the water sector.

Finalists:
- Akon Lighting Africa, various Countries
- Eco-fuel Africa Limited, Uganda
- Magiro Hydroelectric, Kenya
- Solar Sister, Uganda, Tanzania

Category: Future Leader Award
Winner:  Michael Njoroge, CEO, Multi-link Group Ltd, Kenya - Michael started the Multi-link Group Limited in April 2010 as a small company that focused on addressing the challenges of poor households by supplying clean cooking stoves and solar lanterns to help address the issue of Indoor air pollution and also help in environmental conservation and on the other hand develop grid connected clean energy projects. As an energy liaison for Greening Kenya Initiative Trust he has helped create energy forums in county levels, and assisted in training 600 green energy champions. Currently Multi-link is completing the development of the 3M 40MW grid connected solar project in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya. When it connects to the grid in 2017, the project will be the largest grid connected solar project in East and Central Africa.

Finalists:
- Chimaobi Daniel NNA, Research Officer 1, Energy Commission of Nigeria
- Jarrad Wright, Principal Researcher/Engineer, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa   
- Loda Dedekind, Associate: Power Generation, Aurecon, South Africa       
- Lungile Mashele, Sector Specialist: Energy, Development Bank of Southern Africa, South Africa   
- Siya Xuza, Founder and Managing Director, Galactic Energy Ventures, South Africa
- Werner van Antwerpen, Head: Utilities & Sustainability Growthpoint Properties, South Africa   

Category: Power/Water Woman of the Year
Winner:  Phyllis Engefu Ombonyo, Director: Business Development, National Environment Trust Fund, Kenya

Finalists:
- Bertha Dlamini, Managing Director, EON Consulting, South Africa
- Grania Rosette Rubomboras, Program Officer: Power Projects, Nile Basin Initiative /NELSAP, Uganda
- Jasandra Nyker, Chief Executive Officer, BioTherm Energy, South Africa   
- Rose Kaggwa, Director Business & Scientific Services, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda   
- Rudo Angela Sanyanga, Africa Program Director, International Rivers, South Africa   
- Tlaleng Moabi, Managing Director, Enzani Technologies, South Africa   

Category: Energy/Water Efficiency Project of the Year
Winner: George Airport Solar Plant - owned and operated by Airports Company South Africa it has constructed and recently officially opened a Solar Photovoltaic Plant to meet about 41% of its energy demand. The Solar Powered Plant was built on 200 square meters of land and has 3,000 photovoltaic modules, 30 inverters and a substation and the plant’s peak production is 750kW.

Finalists:
- Bayside Mall, Growthpoint Properties, South Africa
- CitiCall, Analog, South Africa
- Hotel Verde, South Africa
- King Shaka International Airport, Airports Company South Africa, South Africa
- Network Upgrade and Street Lighting Project, Kenya Power, Kenya
- Upper Grayston Block F, Tower Property Fund, South Africa
- V&A Waterfront Solar Farm, V&A Waterfront & Sustainable Power Solutions, South Africa

Innovation Hub Awards:
Fifteen SMEs, start-ups and young innovators were selected for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of the African Utility Week’s Innovation Hub and take their businesses to the next level.

The winner: PowerOptimal, a power demand management technology that is commercially proven in diverse installations such as hotels, office buildings, shopping malls and golf courses. The Innovation Hub finalists were: Aquaponic Farmer (Pty) Ltd; Bontle Ke Tlhago; D&C Technologies (Pty) Ltd; Ekasi Energy; Garth Middleton; GCX Africa; HeliosLite; Mobile4Energy; SAGIFON Technologies; SeeSaw; Solarus; Tiisetso Dev Solutions (Pty); Ltd/TDS Innovations; WHC; Upande.

Industry support
Once again the utility sector has responded well to what is now becoming a sought-after event on the African industry calendar and the lead sponsor for the gala dinner was Poweroad Africa. Other award sponsors were Accenture, Genesis Energy, Kampstrup, Lucy Electric, Steinmüller and Standard Bank. Mazars were the independent verification partners.

The 16th African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and trade exhibition features 250 exhibitors, 250 speakers, a six stream strategic conference, a free-to-attend technical conference on the expo floor, three high-profile keynote sessions and technical site visits. The trade exhibition is free and showcases water and energy saving technologies and services for the industry and feature hands-on demonstrations and CPD-accredited technical workshops on the exhibition floor.

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. The event forms part of a global energy event series, including European Utility Week, Australian Utility Week, Asian Utility Week and Latin American Utility Week. Other African 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.

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

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