Longstanding energy platform gathers all role players to discuss, debate and do deals

Gwede Mantashe, South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, and Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, Chairman of the Board of Eskom, will be among the high-profile keynote speakers at Enlit Africa, formerly African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, taking place from 8-10 June.

Enlit Africa will kickstart its return on Tuesday, 8 June at 10h00 with a visionary discussion on the “5Ds of the energy transition”, namely: decarbonisation, decentralisation, democratisation, digitalisation and deregulation. The opening session will feature local and global experts unpacking how the evolution of the power and energy sector globally will also affect local supply and opportunities, focusing on technology, policy and funding.

More exciting speakers and moderators on the programme include:

• Mary Warlick, Deputy Executive Director, International Energy Agency, France
• Sabine Dall'Omo, CEO, Siemens, South Africa
• Ashish Khanna, Practice Manager: West and Central Africa, World Bank, USA
• Dr Albert Butare, a former Minister of State for Infrastructure in the Republic of Rwanda and currently the CEO of Africa Energy Services Group Ltd
• Gillian-Alexandre Huart, CEO, ENGIE Energy Access, Belgium
• Hendrik Malan, CEO - Africa, Frost & Sullivan, South Africa
• Dr Jarrad Wright, Principal Researcher, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa
• Mandy Rambharos, GM: Just Energy Transition Office, Eskom, South Africa
• Ashish Kumar, Head of Innovation, Shell Foundation, United Kingdom
• Tobi Busari, Team Lead: Embedded Generation and Renewable Energy, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Nigeria
• Roland Ngam, Programme Manager, Climate Justice & Socio-Ecological Transformation, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, South Africa
• Kadri Nassiep, Executive Director (Energy), City of Cape Town

The view the full programme and to register to attend, click here. All content will also be available on demand following the live broadcasts.

Industry support

Eskom, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the City of Cape Town have been official hosting partners of the event for many years and 2021 is no different. Global and local top technology and services suppliers to the industry, including Siemens, Landis + Gyr, Brady Corp, Oracle, IFS, G3-PLC, GE, Toshiba, Power Africa and Conlog are returning as sponsors at Enlit Africa.

Other industry supporters are Prime Alliance, WESGRO, City of Cape Town, Ntiyiso Consulting and many more.

ESI Africa, the continent’s leading news provider for power and energy news, is the official host publication while the Enel Foundation is back as the knowledge partner.

Same inspiration, different look

Enlit Africa, taking place from 8 to 10 June, is the new brand for the Cape-town based African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition, which for more than 20 years has been the flagship power and energy show for the continent’s energy sector. The event had two very successful, interactive digital editions last year and rebranded in November 2020.

Enlit Africa is organised by Clarion Events Africa, 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 Nigeria Mining Week, Africa Mining Forum and DRC Mining Week.

Enlit Africa dates and venues:
Digital Event: 8 - 10 June 2021

Next live, in-person conference and exhibition: 7 – 9 June 2022
Venue: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Website: www.enlit-africa.com

Media contact:
Annemarie Roodbol
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Two leading programmes celebrating excellence and innovation in the African power and energy sector, have joined forces to honour the continent’s leading energy projects and pioneers. The African Power & Energy Elites publication and the African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards have aligned for their 2020 editions with a single nomination and selection process across a set of complementary categories.

For the last six years, the coveted African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards have been taking place during African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town. Meanwhile, the prestigious African Power & Energy Elites publication has celebrated leadership and successful projects in the sector since 2016. The newly combined awards programme will be known as the African Power & Energy Elites and offer even more benefits, recognition and exposure for the finalists and winners, apart from the quality publication and glamorous awards evening. These benefits include access to, and speaking opportunities at leading energy events on the continent, a seat at the awards evening, a VIP tour of Cape Town and surrounds and an on-camera interview at the Awards evening.

The respective Elites categories are focused on excellence in leadership and pioneering projects and are applicable to both the public and private sectors, extending across power generation, transmission and distribution, water, independent power producers and project developers.    The final selection of African Power & Energy Elites projects and leaders is made by an external advisory board composed of experienced industry figures from around the world

Nomination categories

Leadership
These are industry influencers who are innovative in their leadership approaches and strategies to improve the greater power and energy, and water value chain on a regional or country level. These leaders can be active in the private or public sectors and can include academia. Their influential role should be setting benchmarks in their respective industry sectors including, but not limited to, project design and development, engineering, technology and innovation, data related projects, mentoring and coaching of colleagues, legislation and finance.

Generation Innovation and Optimisation
Projects in which electricity producers have improved thermal power generation efficiency and/or capacity by developing and implementing advanced and innovative technology and solutions into an existing or new power plant. Things to consider include reduced operational or deferred capital expenditures, carbon and other emissions reductions, life extension, and plant upgrades. This category is applicable to projects that fall within either small, medium and large-scale.

Renewable Energy Generation Innovation and Optimisation
Projects in which electricity producers have utilised renewable power generation and new business offerings to meet growing customer demand for cleaner energy options. This can include the utilisation of blockchain or peer to peer trading facilitation, complex stakeholder engagement, utility facilitated residential storage or a complete restructuring of a business to accommodate the technology. This category is applicable to projects that fall within either small, medium and large-scale.

Rural Electrification
Electrification projects that have made a considerable positive impact to increasing energy access and electrification rates in urban, rural and informal settlements. These projects can be initiatives driven by government, private developers, or public institutions. The project can include any form of technology that increases power distribution to unelectrified communities for use in homes, schools, healthcare facilities, agriculture, and small businesses.

Transmission & Distribution
Projects that have provided growth in the transmission and distribution of electricity either locally, nationally or regionally. These projects can include LV, MV and HV new build programmes, maintenance projects, service delivery initiatives, technology roll-out programmes, revenue protection measures, technical and non-technical loss reduction, grid integration, and initiatives to increase network stability. Projects should have faced complex challenges.

Smart Cities
Projects undertaken as part of a smart city initiative which have driven an integrated energy, transportation, water or gas system as part of an overall city plan. Initiatives can include increased access to data which has led to energy, water or gas savings or enhanced management, or the overall implementation of a water, gas or electricity management and/or supply programme, wastewater management, green buildings and energy efficient programmes, transportation within the energy efficiency framework.

Finance & Investment
These models should be exemplary in their fields which can be in the form of traditional financing models, FinTech and interactive platforms such as crowdfunding that attribute to the development of small, medium and large-scale power projects.

Digital Transformation
The most transformative product or project of 2019/2020 – this can include innovations across the water, power and energy value chain (generation; transmission; distribution). Additionally, innovation and progression in the use of data & analytics; significant meter rollouts; and innovations in research and development, training and skills development.

Deadlines

• 30 Aug 2019: Nominations close
• 30/31 Jan 2020: Digital publication is released to market on ESI Africa with the shortlisted people and projects
• 13 May 2020: Awards evening at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa

To nominate a person or project: https://www.clarion-events-group.com/AfricanElites_
Nominations Category descriptions can also be found at https://www.esi-africa.com/regional-news/africa/nomination-categories-african-power-energy-elites-2020/

The African Power & Energy Elites is an annual journal produced by ESI Africa in collaboration with the Clarion Power & Energy Series recognising industry achievements across the power and energy value chain.

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, real estate and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, 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.

Contacts
For exclusive sponsorship opportunities contact:
Errol Bryce: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Stephen Campbell: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Loudon Cito: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For nomination enquiries contact:
Ashley Theron-Ord: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Natalie Bacon: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Media 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. 

Ethiopia’s former State Minister in the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Mr Wondimu Tekle Sigo, Ghana Grid Co, Lilongwe Water Board and several renewable energy generation projects were amongst the winners at the annual African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards that returned to Cape Town last week, honouring the leading utilities, projects and people in the energy and water industries on the continent.

Their achievements during 2018/2019 were celebrated during the prestigious gala dinner on Wednesday 15 May, and formed part of the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town. The winners and finalists in the respective categories for the African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards 2019 are: • Lifetime Achievement Award WINNER: Wondimu Tekle Sigo, Former State Minister, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Ethiopia Mr Sigo said he was “grateful for being chosen”.

According to the former minister he was fortunate to have been involved in many interesting projects in his career, in both water and energy: “especially the 6000MW hydropower Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is under construction, on the Blue Nile. This project has already reached almost 60 percent, so this will help Ethiopia as well as the neighbouring countries through integration.

This was one of the big projects that I was leading when I was at the ministry. This award is not just for me, but also for all the colleagues who have worked on so many projects with me, from the time when I was a site manager until I became a minister, and the team work we achieved.” For seven years, Wondimu Tekle Sigo served as Ethiopia’s Minister of State for the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy.

He is well respected for the design and construction of various infrastructure projects, including the expansion of a rural electrification programme for more than 6000 towns and villages in the region. Furthermore, he tackled water shortages by increasing the water supply of the city around the Dire water reservoir dam from 240,000m³ to 400 000 m³ per day.

Amongst his many achievements, Sigo upgraded eight cities’ electric distribution systems including that of Addis Ababa. ESI Africa included Sigo in their 60 most influential figures in the power sector from East and West Africa. Now as a PhD candidate for Economics at the Peking University in China, Sigo has been conducting research since 2017 around achieving Ethiopia’s economic growth and development.

The other finalists were (in no particular order): - Abderrahim Jamrani, Technical Director, Masen - Wim Jonker Klunne, Programme Director, Energy and Environment Partnership, Southern and East Africa (EEP) - Dale Robertson, President, Enerscan Engineering • Outstanding Contribution Award: Power WINNER: Jasandra Nyker, Chief Executive Officer, BioTherm Energy, South Africa “I am very proud of this achievement” an elated Ms Nyker said on Wednesday evening, “it has been eight years since we started building biotherm energy into a renewable energy investment and development platform.

I dedicate this award to my team because it is very much a team effort. We’ve built an amazing business and we have expanded into the rest of Africa. For us this is just a great achievement.” Ms Nyker is the Chief Executive Officer of BioTherm Energy, who led the business to grow from 4 MW in PPAs to over 450 MWs of secured PPAs.

BioTherm has expanded its development activities to build a pan African business by winning projects in Zambia, Burkina Faso, Cote D’Iviore and Ghana, and has also won large scale projects with some of the leading global mining companies. She has previously managed the direct investment portfolio on behalf of the PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund as well as Booz Allen Hamilton in London.

Ms. Nyker holds an MBA from the London Business School, where she was a Merrill Lynch Scholar, and a Business Science degree in Finance from the University of Cape Town. She was nominated as a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and was part of the Inaugural Global Agenda Council on New Energy Architecture for the World Economic Forum. The other finalists were: - Ricardo Amansure, Community Operations Manager, Umoya - Jonathan Amoako-Baah, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) - Joel Nana Kontchou, Chief Executive Officer, Eneo Cameroon SA • Outstanding Contribution Award: Water WINNER: Prof. Andras Szöllösi-Nagy, President of the Governing Board of the Sustainable, Development Studies Institute National University of Public Service, Hungary Unable to be in Cape Town this week, a pre-recorded acceptance speech on video by Prof Szöllösi-Nagy was played to the hundreds of high-level power and water professionals who had gathered at the gala dinner to honour him. “Africa needs capacity in water resources,” he said, “although rich in water, it will have major problems to make water use sustainable for generations to come, particularly in the light of climate change. Perhaps there is no other continent that will be so deeply impacted by climate variability and change because as the hydrological cycle is accelerating the probability of having extreme flaws, either floods or drought, will likely increase. And it is now that we have to work together with politicians and policy makers to find out what the appropriate measures are to deal with this danger.” Andras was instrumental in implementing the establishment of several UNESCO Water Centers across Africa. These centers play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable water management in Africa as well as contributing to capacity development and training activities. They also play a pivotal role in implementing IHP.

There are six African UNESCO water centers established to date, including the Regional Center for Training and Water Studies of Arid and Semi-Arid Zones (RCTWS) in Egypt. The Regional Centre for Shared Aquifer Resources Management (RCSARM) in Libya. The Regional Centre on Groundwater Resources Education, Training and Research in East Africa (RCGRE)in Kenya.

The Regional Centre for Integrated River Basin Management (RC-IRBM) located in Nigeria. The Regional Centre on Capacity Development and Research in Water Harvesting (RCWH) in Sudan and the African Regional Centre for Eco hydrology in Ethiopia. Prof. Szöllösi-Nagy was appointed by the Director General of UNESCO to serve as Rector of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. The Institute was an integral part of UNESCO Category 1 Institute. During his tenure he has reformed the Institute where approximately 40% of the graduate students were from Africa. In that period Africa was a priority of both the research and capacity development activities of the Institute.

The African alumni are in lead positions today all over Africa serving various water related organizations. The other finalists were: - Andre Kruger, Head Africa Investment and Integration Desk (AVID), Nepad Business Foundation - Alfonso Chikuni, Chief Executive Officer, Lilongwe Water Board Damas - Alfred Mashauri, Professor: Civil Engineering, University of Namibia: Engineering & IT • Outstanding Contribution Award: Young Leader WINNER: Astria Fataki, Energy Generation, Founder and President After receiving the award a very excited Astria said that: “about ten years ago I fell in love with the energy sector because I realised that energy was a very strong factor and tool for development. But as I was implementing projects I came across a lot of human resources challenges, so I started wondering how we can contribute to the electrification of the continent but with local resources, both technical and human resources. So that is how the idea came to first develop the human capital to provide solutions to the challenge of access to energy and also innovative technology that is tailored for Africa.”

Astria Fataki, who is originally from Togo, is an entrepreneur passionate about project development in Africa. Astria truly believes that energy is at the center of socio-economic development, and fully dedicates herself to tackle this challenge both at the micro and the macro level in Africa. At a macro level, she coordinated, from 2013 to 2015, the contractual and legal construction of two Public-Private Partnership projects for the construction and operation of photovoltaic solar power plants in Mali (40MW) and Chad (60MW).

At the micro level, in 2016, she founded the pan-African organisation Energy Generation, with the objective to develop young Africans’ entrepreneurial initiatives in the energy sector.

Astria holds a Master’s degree in International Public Management from Sciences Po Paris. The other finalists were: - Lois Gicheru, Solafrique, Founder and CEO - Boitumelo Sehlake, Sehlake Energy Solutions, Founder - Pule Segale, Rina Consulting Ltd, Civil Engineer (Site Manager) • Power Service Provider of the Year WINNER: Ghana Grid Company Ltd, Ghana Daniel Mathe is a Divisional Director at GRIDCo and accepted the award on behalf of the organisation: “the award means a lot and means that the good work we are doing has been seen and recognised in Africa and we are working very hard to support other countries within Africa. This year we have been able to supply power to Burkina Faso, our neighbours, so it means that the efforts that we are putting in, are being seen in the industry. We want to do even better. We also supply power to Togo and Benin and are doing a lot as far as the West Africa Power Pool is concerned.”

GRIDCo operates the Ghana Wholesale Electricity Market and provides electricity transmission services and in Ghana and West African. Since its inception GRIDCo has continuously ensured reliable supply of affordable electricity to households by continuously upgrading and extending the grid and the introduction of modern systems in compliance with IEC 61850. As a result, access to electricity in Ghana has increased from 66.7% (2009) to 82.5% (2016).The increase in electricity access has resulted in increased income, improve trade balance, provided local solutions, contributed to industrial development and creation of new job opportunities. In West Africa GRIDCo has established inter and intra connections with other West African countries to the North, East and West of its boundaries, as part of the West African Power Pool System and has positioned Ghana as a Net-Exporter within the Sub-region. For instance, GRIDCo currently supplies about a third of the Electricity required for Burkina through its Transmission System.

These power exports have brought socio-economic benefits and continues to enhanced energy supply security. Additionally, over the last four (4) years GRIDCo has commercialized its telecommunication assets and now provides the most reliable form of fiber communication for telecommunication services and IT support systems nationwide.

The other finalists were: - Umeme Limited - Abuja Electricity Distribution Company - Energy Utility Corporation Limited – EUCL • Water Service Provider of the Year WINNER: Lilongwe Water Board, Malawi The company’s Corporate Planning Manager, Gustav Sikasima, responded as follows after the announcement: “this award means a lot, it means we have been making strides towards the social impact of the people of Lilongwe City and the efforts we have been making to make sure that the City has potable water.” Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) is a statutory organization created in 1947 by the government of Malawi and mandated by the Water Works Act (Cap 72) to supply water to the residents of Lilongwe.

There are about 83,000 metered customers and more than 1000 water Kiosks (communal water selling points) within the City. The total pipe network for LWB is estimated at 1,900 Km.The Board abstracts raw water from Lilongwe River which originates from Dzalanyama Ranges. The Kamuzu Dam I and Kamuzu Dam II upstream of the intake works act as storage for the dry season during which the flow from Lilongwe River cannot sustain production. These two dams collectively were designed to provide a total storage volume of 24.3 million cubic meters. However, due to sedimentation and the continuous severe drought faced by the country for a decade, this capacity is reducing on an annual basis at a rate of approximately 66,760m3 per year for the past five years. The company has two main Treatment Plants, TW I and TW II which are situated within the Water Works Campus.

The combined capacity of the two plants is 125,000 cubic meters per day. The other finalists were: - Hessequa Municipality - Umgeni Water - Ontec Systems (Pty) Ltd • Grid-Tied Renewable Energy Project (10MW +) WINNER: Kathu Solar Thermal Power Plant, South Africa “What is very unique about this type of project is firstly the clean technology" Siyabonga Mbanjwa, Regional Managing Director Southern Africa for SENER, one of the construction partners in Kathu said on Wednesday evening, "and also that it offers production during peak periods: so we are using molten salts as a storage mechanism and that allows us to continue to produce electricity, even when the sun has set. But what is also very exciting about Kathu Solar Park is the manner in which we have worked with the community, we have kept very, very close ties with the community.”

Kathu Solar Park is a 100MW concentrated solar power (CSP) project located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Construction on the project commenced in May 2016. The solar power park achieved commercial operation in January 2019 and has an operational life of 30 years. Kathu solar project is part of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Program (IRP) 2010, which aims to increase the country’s power generation capacity to 86.8GW by 2030. It is a parabolic trough plant consisting of a number of solar collector assemblies, including parabolic reflectors (curved mirror), a tracking system, a support structure, and a receiver tube.

The storage system reduces the effects of irregular sunlight and enables the plant to produce electricity even during low levels of sunlight. It is also installed with 57 three-phase, cast resin-type transformers rated at 1,500kVA. It will also create 500 jobs during the construction phase and 81 permanent jobs during the operational phase.

The project is expected to drive the economic revival of the Northern Cape Province and was constructed as an EPC project by SENER and ACCIONA. The other finalists were: - Greenmillenia - Jinko Solar • Small-Scale Sustainable Energy Project (under 5MW) WINNER: Rubagabaga Hydropower Limited, Rwanda Dan Klinck, MD of East Africa Power/Rubagabaga Hydro Power Limited said after receiving the award: “We’re very pleased with the award, this is very prestigious, and we are thrilled that Rubagabaga came to fruition. It’s been a lot of hard work, we’ve had 1500 workers on this project, so this award is really for everybody who participated.” He added: “what’s unique about this project is that it is a public-private-community partnership. It is one thing to build a project that just hooks up the line and adds it to the utility.

For us we really focused in on what it would do to the community and its productive use equipment, its industrial park, its community library, its agricultural centre of excellence – it wasn’t just power to line up the grid, it was something that really could bring the community together and make a difference and we’re very happy about that.” Rubagabaga Hydropower Project is a 445 kW grid-connected, run-of-the-river project located in the Northern Province of Rwanda.

It has made a very large impact on the local and regional communities by bringing renewable energy, jobs, and improved livelihood to thousands of households. The project is the first hydropower project to implement a containerised turbine and generator in East Africa. Built almost entirely using simple man-power with little mechanical intervention, this project gives credit to the innovative and resourceful nature of the Rwandan people In addition to the 455 kW delivered to the national grid, this project has created more than 1000 jobs over the span of its life thus far.

The ongoing introduction of energy linked directly to innovative, locally-initiated industries creates a dynamic and diverse economy and a sustainably healthy community with the power to impact Rwanda on a national scale. It is the developer’s policy to establish such community-serving projects wherever a successful hydropower plant has been developed. The other finalists were: - BBOX - Ecomandate Foundation - African Sustainable Energies - Eaton Electric South Africa Industry support The sponsors of the African Power, Energy & Water Industry Awards 2019 were Eaton, Aberdare Cables, SBS Tanks, Mazars, Standard Bank, ESI Africa, Smart Energy International and Clarion Energy.

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, 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.

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities #AUW2019 #PGAF2019 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.

Cape Town, May 16: FuseForward, a provider of cloud and analytic solutions, is demonstrating the benefits real-time analytics can deliver to African utilities during the African Utility Week conference and exhibition.

Held from 14-16 May in Cape Town, South Africa, African Utility Week is the leading conference for African power, energy and water professionals. FuseForward’s Founder and CEO, Mark Damm, is excited about the opportunity to provide analytic solutions that shed light on the challenges faced by utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Utilities in Africa face a range of issues, many of which affect their ability to meet basic demands for water and electricity,” says Mark. “We know that the availability of reliable and complete data is critical in order for utilities to find solutions to their challenges.

Data from IoT devices and smart meters can help, but developing the technology required to ingest, store and make sense of this information is a barrier for many resource-strapped utilities.” FuseForward’s cloud platform provides a secure, reliable way for utilities to store, aggregate and analyze data from their IoT and smart devices, delivering the comprehensive performance information utilities need within a single interface.

Example utility challenges that FuseForward can address include:

• Demand management: Data from devices and external sources can be used to predict peak electricity or water usage times, enabling better management of resources.
• Preventative maintenance: Deteriorating infrastructure can often be the cause of outages in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By analyzing sensor data from equipment and infrastructure, utilities can obtain real-time maintenance alerts, preventing outages before they occur.

With the event set to close today, Mark is optimistic about the future for the industry, and the role FuseForward can play. “We’ve had a chance to hear first-hand about the challenges facing utilities and are looking forward to the opportunity to help solve them. Not only do analytic solutions in this sector have the ability to provide business improvements for utilities, they also play a role in improving the delivery of power and water across Sub-Saharan Africa—and that’s something our team is very enthusiastic about!”

About FuseForward
FuseForward is an AWS Advanced Technology Partner and Select Consulting Partner that provides secure cloud environments and analytic solutions for critical infrastructure providers and public agencies. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, we serve customers around the world from our offices in South Africa, Europe and North America.

For more information visit www.fuseforward.com

Media Contact: Wendy Scott at +27 83 270 7765 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CNN’s Business Africa Correspondent, Eleni Giokos, will be the moderator of the opening session of the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition that is taking place in Cape Town from 14-16 May.

The keynote addresses will be delivered during the opening session on Tuesday 14 May by:

09:40-10:00: Host Utility Welcome address Phakamani Hadebe, Chief Executive, Eskom, South Africa
10:00-10:30: Swedish Ministerial Address Niklas Johansson, State Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden
10:30-11:00: Host ministerial and VIP opening addresses Hon Jeff Radebe, Minister of Energy, Department of Energy, South Africa

Debate on climate change After the break at 12:15, Ms Giokos will lead the panel discussion on: “Advancing global efforts to address and manage the impacts and risks of climate change.”

Panellists:

• Anton Eberhard, Professor: Management Programme in Infrastructure, Reform and Regulation, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Saliem Fakir, Head of Policy and Futures Unit, World Wide Fund, South Africa
• Mark Swilling, Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Development Programme in the School of Public Leadership, South Africa
• Kai Kaatra, DDG for Natural Resources in Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland

Earlier this year, the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa entered into a media partnership with the global news organisation and broadcaster CNN. The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

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 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 secured the support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, GE, Landis+Gyr, SAP, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, ADC Energy, Rosatom, Sulzer and Toshiba as gold sponsors.

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 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 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.  

Energy Minister Jeff Radebe to present event keynote address again in May

The organisers of the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition, taking place in Cape Town from 14-16 May 2019, have announced a four-year partnership with the South African Ministry of Energy.  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 at the event on 14 May.

“Since his appointment, Minister Radebe has shown visionary and passionate leadership in terms of energy security, something that resonates greatly with our African power community” says African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa event director Evan Schiff, “and we look forward to welcome him back to the event to hear his message.”

He adds: “the potential of renewable energy sources such as solar, storage solutions and mini-grid generation projects are just some of the exciting focus areas at this year’s African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa and we expect more than 10 000 energy and water professionals from across Africa and the world to gather in the Mother City. Renewing our previous successful four-year partnership with the Energy Ministry allows us to further entrench South Africa’s leading role on the continent and within the international power community.”

“African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa never disappoints with compelling content, inspiring speakers and the latest technology offerings” says the Department of Energy, adding that it looks forward to “another fruitful four-year partnership and taking valuable strides in our vision for a sustainable approach to South Africa’s energy deficit.”

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.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa to gather 10 000+ in Cape Town in May“

Honestly, I think the business model for energy investment needs to change” says Penny Herbst, Director Strategy for Africa GreenCo. “There are far too many players that are comfortable with the same structures for investment, selling to an SOE (state-owned enterprise) with a government guarantee. What we really need at present is for investors to have a stake where their influence contributes to improving the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) as a whole.  Both current investors familiar with the South African environment and those that wish to enter the market for the first time are awaiting the release of the revised IRP for their next move.”    

She explains that Africa GreenCo has an innovative business model “where it will function as an intermediary buyer and seller of power from IPPs and in this role will aggregate financial and supply risks in a portfolio approach by, amongst others, using local and regional markets to transparently diversify its risks.” 

Municipalities part of ESI
With regards to the role of municipalities, Ms Herbst, who is a former Eskom employee and 30-year veteran of the energy industry, says: “the municipalities are as much a part of the ESI as Eskom and as a matter of fact, in most large metros they add a margin in excess of 100% to Eskom’s tariff e.g. Eskom charges the municipalities approximately ZAR 1 / Wh and they in turn charge ZAR 2+ / kWh to their customers.  This is exorbitant and to make matters worse the charges associated with pre-paid exceed those of post-paid. Surely pre-paid customers are a better credit quality than those that are being billed in arrears.  The question to be raised here is who is benefitting from pre-paid meters, if it is the private sector, is their remuneration commensurate with their risk?” 

She adds: “what is clear though is that there is a myriad of players lying in wait to capitalise on the gap that has been created by the unfolding Eskom financial and reliability challenge. Can we as a country honestly say that the planning and pricing impact for this has been fully comprehended?“

Ms Herbst will moderate a conference session on “Financing renewable energy projects” at the upcoming African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town from 14-16 May. Click here to read her full interview: An electricity sector in turmoil - Unpacking what transpired.

Educating investors on risk
“We are seeing greater interest from international investors than we have in the past” says Romain Py, Investment Director – Head of Transactions, African Infrastructure Investment Managers Pty Ltd (AIIM). “It is, however, important to note that the African private equity industry is still at an early stage of development relative to the traditional markets. As a result, the key focus for the industry needs to be on educating investors, notably on how to manage risks, and the large gap between perceived risks and actual residual risks for deals.”

AIIM is a shareholder in the Albatros Energy Mali project which won Project of the Year at the African Utility Week Industry Awards last year. Albatros Energy Mali, an HFO thermal power station, is Mali’s first independent power producer (IPP) project. Py adds: “There is also a need to educate governments on the requirements for increased private sector participation and consistency of policies and regulation. Reforms have been enacted in some countries in order to encourage Africa-based institutional investors to allocate capital to the asset class. However, more remains to be done to fully harness private equity’s potential to contribute to Africa’s socio-economic development.” For Romain Py’s full interview click here.

This year’s African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa dedicates a full three-day conference track to investment and finance in the energy sector. AIIM’s Romain Py is part of a panel discussion on: “What impact will the financial and investment landscape for 2019 have on Africa’s power infrastructure?”

Mini grids, deregulation
“Deregulation would open a market for people to produce power and sell power and that would revolutionise the energy landscape in South Africa. Technically it wouldn’t be a difficult or complex thing to do; there are plenty of precedents around the world where it has worked really well” – this is according to says Dr Sam Duby, Africa Director for TFE Energy and mini grid expert.

He continues: “creating a market for independently produced energy would also very quickly incentivise and unlock investment into the space. As more projects were built and generation capacity added, you would also very quickly get more system resilience. Blackouts really could be a thing of the past.“

At African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in May, Dr Duby will address the Energy Revolution Africa conference session on the latest developments and long-awaited cooperation in the African micro grid industry. See more from Dr Duby here.

The 19th edition of this leading 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. ESI Africa is the longstanding host publication of the event. 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. 

ESI Africa premium media partner at African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa

"Whether you want to call it load-shedding, a blackout, load-shifting or load sharing, remember that this affects everyone. We are in this together so join your neighbourhood Whatsapp or Facebook group to stay informed.” So says Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl, editor ESI Africa, a leading energy industry journal.

Off the grid
“It is not really viable at this stage for the average suburban household to go completely off the grid to avoid the effects of load-shedding” says Mrs Pombo-van Zyl, adding “but, it is possible to develop a back-up plan for when the grid goes down. The ideal option is solar PV but this requires an investment, which will eventually pay off in the long run. One could just invest in a solar water heater system or take the route of rooftop solar with a battery storage unit.”

“Back-up generators are also an option, especially for businesses although they can be noisy and cumbersome to set up and prove dangerous for people not familiar with this type of equipment. Another off-grid option is to change to gas for cooking and lighting.” She continues: “some people may think that they are experiencing load-shedding when in actual fact their main has tripped. Invest in battery-operated torches and lighting and regularly check the batteries. Ensure that your mobile phones are charged. Also be more vigilant when driving as a lot of traffic lights are affected.”

ESI Africa at African Utility Week
The potential of renewable energy sources such as solar, storage solutions and mini-grid generation projects are some of the exciting focus areas at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa 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 flagship conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

ESI Africa is the longstanding host publication of the event and also has an onsite studio on the expo floor to interview dozens of experts for its online portal. Says ESI Africa’s editor Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl:  “this annual event is marked in my diary as a ‘must-attend’ to meet with industry stalwarts and the up-and-coming young leaders. I’m keenly looking forward to three intense days of on-point conversations around what’s happening in the industry, what to expect in the coming year, and the solutions driving development. Also, as a moderator for one of the conference sessions, I’m excited by the prospect of debating risks and opportunities in a way that could very well deliver a primed solution to the attending delegates who have travelled from far and wide.”

She continues: “it’s going to be another superb year for the ESI Africa team as our bumper issue of the journal is being distributed in the delegate bags and VIP areas. As the official host publication, ESI Africa is the only media house with an onsite studio where on-camera interviews will be conducted over the three days of African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa. Another activity is our sought-after roving camera team who will be visiting expo booths that have pre-booked an interview with us.”

The ESI Africa television studio is strategically positioned on the exhibition floor for easy access, says Nicolette: “this is where our team of editors will conduct professional on-camera interviews with conference speakers, VIP guests, and profiled attendees to reap their industry knowledge for our readers’ benefit.

“You can also rely on the editorial team to keep you posted on what’s happening as they will be reporting live from the conference sessions using the ESI Africa social media channels and website. We’re interested in connecting with as many people as possible, so look out for the team at the networking sessions, awards gala, and knowledge hubs.”

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 forms 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.