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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 “We are excited to participate and engage with thousands of power professionals”

African Utility Week has announced that Power Africa, US President Barack Obama’s initiative to improve access to power in sub-Saharan Africa, will be the official country partner of the upcoming conference and expo from 12-14 May at the CTICC in Cape Town. The conference and expo bring together utility professionals from across the globe to learn, share knowledge and debate the key topics that will secure the future development of Africa’s power and water industries.

Power Africa works with African governments, the private sector, and other partners to add more than 30,000 megawatts (MW) of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity as well as increase electricity access by adding 60 million new home and business connections throughout all of sub-Saharan Africa.

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

Fitting to gather in Cape Town
Andrew Herscowitz, Coordinator for Power Africa, says: “President Obama launched Power Africa in Cape Town in late June 2013 and it is therefore fitting that we will gather and engage Africa in Cape Town in May, to talk about solutions and partnering with African utilities to connect Africa to the global grid.”

He adds:  “we are excited to participate and engage with thousands of power professionals from around the continent gathering at African Utility Week to discuss their shared challenges and how they can work together to improve the way Africans live and work.  We look forward to continuing to be part of this on-going conversation and making a difference in the African power sector.”

African Utility Week event director Evan Schiff says “African Utility Week is the right place for Power Africa to engage with stakeholders as there are strong synergies between our respective strategies on the continent. This is the only ‘in territory’ event, that Power Africa will be participating in, with US exhibitors supported by the US Commercial Services and Power Africa partners like USAID,OPIC, EXIM Bank, US Department of State, US Department of Energy and the Power Africa Private Partners. We therefore share a common goal with clear objectives.”

He continues: “African utilities have been gathering at African Utility Week for 15 years, engaging with their peers to find African solutions to African challenges in the power sector. International partners have participated in this conversation and added best of breed technology and financial solutions. Long term strategic partnerships between initiatives and organisations like Power Africa and African Utility Week therefore are in Africa’s interest.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

www.spintelligent.com 

“We are part of the industry and therefore perfectly placed to identify trends”

“We’re ready for this year and great things are already underway, from a new corporate identity that reflects where Spintelligent is going, to exciting new events that will be launched in the second half of this year”, says David Ashdown, Managing Director of Spintelligent Pty, the leading Cape Town-based publisher, trade exhibition and conference organizer in the power, mining, agriculture, defence and education sectors.

New identity reflects transformation
As of the beginning of 2015 the company boasts a revitalised corporate identity with new printed and electronic collateral, which Ashdown says “reflects the transformation that is taking place in the company and the new direction we have taken as we continue to evolve and redefine our business from the inside out, while remaining in touch with the industry to stay relevant, vital and innovative.”

Training Academy
Part of this growth is the new Spintelligent Training Academy that was established at the end of last year to address learning and development needs in the energy, utilities and mining industries on the African continent. Says David Ashdown: ”we are part of the industry and therefore perfectly placed to identify trends and gaps with regards to skills development. The Training Academy’s first courses have started and will give power professionals from South Africa, Ghana to Nigeria practical insights into and solutions to their daily challenges.”    

Busy first quarter & new events
A busy first quarter is already underway as the preparation for various upcoming flagship Spintelligent events is in full swing. These shows include the agriculture and mining expos in Zambia: Agritech Expo and CBM-TEC, both of which were launched with great success last year, will take place again in April and May in Chisamba and Kitwe this year.

“Then as part of our ongoing strategy to identify gaps in the market and broadening our audiences at existing strong shows”, says Spintelligent’s David Ashdown, “we are launching four new events in the second half of this year. The new Clean Power East Africa, Clean Power West Africa and the iPAD Power & Infrastructure Investment Forums in Uganda and Cameroon are all extensions of highly successful Spintelligent event franchises.”

Publishing
Spintelligent’s Publishing division has just launched the second edition of the “Most influential people in Africa’s power sector” publication, which features the most influential people who are shaping the power sector across the continent. This complements the “Most influential people in European Smart Grid” publication, which was launched late last year.

Says David Ashdown: “with 22 publications a year, this is a busy department, and we have an amazing team working to make our titles best in class, setting new standards in the power, metering, smart energy and mining publishing sectors.” 

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.
Web:  www.spintelligent.com

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

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

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

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

www.spintelligent.com
www.spintelligent.com/pages/detail/16472

 

Top tips for saving and celebrating a greener Christmas 

Load shedding is a fact of life for the foreseeable future in South Africa and a little planning and creativity can alleviate a lot of the unpleasantness during the holidays. This is according to Evan Schiff, event director of the annual African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and expo in Cape Town.

He says furthermore that higher electricity prices in South Africa have become an increasing strain on consumers’ monthly expenses and that “Christmas is a great time to introduce energy saving habits into a household as many easy and simple changes in the way we live can end up putting extra money into your pocket.”

Practical tips to plan for and cope with load shedding this holiday:
•    Be prepared, keep a regular eye on websites with information on load shedding schedules and print these out.  http://www.loadshedding.eskom.co.za/
•    Create a Whatsapp group for your neighbourhood and keep each other informed.
•    Make sure that there are enough candles, matches, torches, batteries and so forth for load shedding periods after dark.
•    Be ready for it! Make sure all cellphones, tablets, laptops and toys are fully charged before the lights go out. This way you can keep the kids entertained with a movie, or at least be able to use the phone.
•    Have fun activities ready for when the lights are off such as board games and family time around the barbeque.
•    Keep a gas burner as a back-up in the kitchen to be able to heat water and do essential cooking.   

An energy efficient holiday season
“There are a variety of ways we can use a lot less electricity this holiday season”, says Schiff, “such as using LED* Christmas lights which use 90% less electricity than regular Christmas lights. Consider investing in solar powered outdoor lights which can also be used on the Christmas tree and only come on at night.”

He continues: “up to 40% of all batteries are purchased during the holiday season so try to buy toys and gifts that don't use electricity or batteries. Gifts made of recycled material are also a great environmentally friendly gesture.”

More handy energy saving tips for the holiday season:
•    Don’t use the tumble dryer unnecessarily – it is summer, so take advantage of solar powered drying.
•    Turn off the room lights when the Christmas tree lights are on.
•    Set a timer to Christmas and outdoor lights to limit the time they are on.
•    Create a romantic and intimate atmosphere by using candles instead of lights.
•    Enjoy the weather and celebrate the holidays outside with a braai instead of cooking on a stove!  Or enjoy cold meats and salads during this summer season – it’s healthier and saves on power.
•    If you’re going away, turn off/ the geyser, empty and unplug the refrigerator.Advice for improving energy efficiency in your home during the year:
•    Invest in a geyser blanket. Unless the geyser is properly insulated, switching it off does not save electricity.
•    Insulate the roof to make the house cooler in summer and warmer in winter and thereby saving on seasonal heating and cooling.•    Switch off appliances at the wall plug when not in use.
•    Replace CFL (compact fluorescent lamps) bulbs with LED.
•    Use cold water to do laundry, it saves electricity and is better for the clothes.

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

The 15th edition of African Utility Week is expected to again attract more than 5000 attendees and feature 250 exhibitors, 190 speakers, eight conferences, free technical workshops on the expo floor, three high-profile plenary sessions and the coveted industry awards gala dinner. Stakeholders from across the industry and continent are represented, from Ministers of Energy through to power and water utilities, municipalities and regulators to investors and technology and service providers.  

Attending the African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa exhibition is free when registering in advance and it showcases energy saving technologies and services for the industry and features hands-on demonstrations and workshops on the exhibition floor.

*LED=light-emitting diodes

Eskom’s 49M campaign encourages all South Africans to take the 49M pledge to save at least 10% electricity.  http://www.49m.co.za

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 dates for next year’s African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are:  
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015
Location:  CTICC, Cape Town
Website:  www.african-utility-week.com, www.clean-power-africa.com 

Contact for interviews:
Event director: Evan Schiff
Mobile: +27 83 415 3534
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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.

www.african-utility-week.com/pages/detail/15725

5000+ power and water professionals to meet for 15th annual industry meeting

Regional collaboration in the power and water sectors, the untapped potential of renewable energy and investment challenges will be top of the agenda at the 15th African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition, returning to the CTICC in Cape Town from 12-14 May next year. The event is expected to again attract more than 5000 attendees and feature 250 exhibitors, 190 speakers, eight conferences, free technical workshops on the expo floor, three high-profile plenary sessions and the coveted industry awards gala dinner.The event brings together utility professionals from across the globe to learn, share knowledge and debate the key topics that will secure the future development of Africa’s power and water industries.

Africa is open for business
The new event director for African Utility Week Evan Schiff says: “Based on consultations with the industry, we have extended the conference and exhibition by an extra day, so we now offer three days of conference sessions, networking and an extra plenary session. The theme of our opening plenary session is: ‘Africa is open for business’. We have a few surprises up our sleeves in terms of keynote speakers and at this stage we can confirm that the Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director for Africa, Mr Mamadou Biteye, is part of our high-level line-up.”

He continues: “our most important aim is to remain relevant by providing the best industry insight and knowledge to attendees. To ensure we are plugged in to the most up to date information, we work very closely with leading and pioneering individuals and companies in the sector. Our high-level advisory board is a veritable who’s who of the power and water industries and our conference and technical workshop programmes reflect this with topical, up-to-date discussions and presentations.”     

Industry challenges
With regards to challenges in the industry, the African Utility Week director says “there is a growing need for regional collaboration: establishing a regulatory framework for the entire region and cross-border power supplies and exchanges. Furthermore, there is vast untapped potential in solar PV, wind, and geothermal that can be used as power generation sources.”

Another major challenge is access to finance for investment in energy projects and infrastructure development. To address the calls for more information on this key sector, African Utility Week 2015 presents a new Finance & Investment conference track that will create a unique forum for utilities, governments and project developers to meet with international, regional, local and alternative financiers to explore new opportunities arising from the utility industry, address relevant challenges, and answer some of the thorny funding questions. It will have the objective of encouraging funding and revenue inflows into the utility sector by engaging leading decision makers on the global finance and investment arena.

Industry buy-in
Eskom is again the host utility for the event, Cape Town the host city while the event also enjoys the support of professional industry bodies such as the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE), the Power Institute for East and Southern Africa (PIESA) and Southern Africa Asset Management Association (SAAMA).

Big suppliers of technology and services to the sector have also already signed up as high-profile partners at the event, including global player DNV GL as exclusive diamond sponsor, while Accenture, Building Energy, MarelliMotori and Rubbytad are the four platinum sponsors.  

CEO Forum
The invitation-only Utility CEO Forum is the only African forum where C-level executives from Africa's leading utilities come together to discuss pressing topics within the industry and to accelerate cross-border collaboration, development plans and the advancement of regional centres of excellence throughout Africa. Utility executives from countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Namibia, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are expected to return.

Awards – Outstanding Woman in Power
The inaugural African Utility Week Industry Awards last year were a sold-out success with companies and individuals in the power and water industry honoured in categories ranging from Lifetime Achievement, Municipality of the Year to Clean Energy Project of the Year. For the 2015 event there will be a total of ten categories, with a new category that has been added, namely Outstanding Woman in Power.

Attending the African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa exhibition is free when registering in advance and it showcases energy saving technologies and services for the industry and features hands-on demonstrations and CPD-accredited technical workshops on the exhibition floor. Log on to www.african-utility-week.com for free registration.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, the African office of Clarion Events Ltd which is based in the UK. It has become recognised as a highly successful African event organiser and publisher, with flagship projects in the power, mining, agriculture, defence and education sectors such as African Utility Week, West African Power Industry Convention, African EduWeek, Agritech-Expo, Land Forces Africa and the iPAD infrastructure and mining event franchise.

Dates for African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa 2015:
Conference and expo: 12-14 May 2015
Awards gala dinner:  13 May 2015
Site visits: 15 May 2015
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Websites: www.african-utility-week.com and www.clean-power-africa.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.

Further recognition of the City Lodge Hotel Group’s commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility

Johannesburg, June 27, 2014

The City Lodge Hotel brand within the City Lodge Hotel Group has been certified  by the Green Leaf™ Eco  Standard, acknowledging the significant improvements that have been made in the important areas of energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management, responsible procurement and staff and guest awareness of environmental responsibility issues.

While the certification  initially applies only to the City Lodge Hotel brand, the group has largely implemented the same technology and procedures in its Courtyard Hotel, Town Lodge and Road Lodge brands.  Green Leaf™ Eco Standard is an initiative of the Wilderness Foundation, aimed at enabling and certifying the balance between business and nature.

Over the past three years, the City Lodge Hotel Group has rolled out a group-wide energy efficiency initiative across all four of its brands with the emphasis focused on the installation of LED lighting (around 40,000 bulbs) and heat pumps and the monitoring and reduction of energy consumption. The group is also a member of Eskom’s 49M energy efficiency campaign which commits partners to a 15% reduction in electricity usage.

Concerted efforts also focused on water efficiency and responsible waste management 

More recently, the group has embarked on a water efficiency programme across the City Lodge Hotel brand, focusing on efficient flow technology on shower heads and taps, dual-flush toilets and the re-using of towels.  The intention is to roll this out across the other three brands.

Attention has also gone into improving waste management as part of the certification  for the City Lodge Hotel brand. This has included the separation of different types of waste on site, the transport of waste to recycling centres and the transport of non-recyclable waste to landfill sites

.According to Clifford Ross, the group’s CEO, “We’re proud of achieving this latest certification  as it recognises the serious attention we have paid to reducing our carbon footprint and maximizing our effective use of electricity and water and responsible disposal of recyclable and non-recyclable waste,” said Ross. 

“Standards for responsible tourism have also been incorporated into the certification  we have received, further demonstrating our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility in our operations,” he added.Andrew Phillips, CEO of Green Leaf™ Eco Standard said: “I have had the pleasure of witnessing the leadership group of City Lodge initiate a responsible tourism mind-set change throughout its hotel brands and to now formally sign-off on core certification under the Green Leaf™ Eco Standard certification programme is recognition well deserved.”    

Significantly, City Lodge’s Green Leaf certification  ideally complements the City Lodge Earth Day initiative, which was launched on social media platforms at the beginning of June.The core message of this campaign is that every day is Earth Day. The pay-off line is “no planet no you; no you, no us.”Marketing collateral is being developed to communicate this messaging to guests within hotels enabling them to participate in the campaign in a practical way.

Green is our favourite colour!

City Lodge is big into helping to protect the environment. ‘Sustainability’ is the buzzword around here and accordingly we’ve been busily greening our practices, like installing power-saving LED light bulbs in our hotels as well as providing dual-flushing toilet systems.

As of today we’re also launching our City Lodge Earth Day campaign, which is about promoting green practices amongst our staff and guests. It’s just one more step in trying to reduce our impact on the environment.The idea behind City Lodge Earth Day is that every day is a good day to focus on the environment.

So you will be seeing many educational and encouraging messages on our social media channels and within our hotels about ‘going green’ and how you can be part of the movement. Because the thing with green practices is that the more people you can get on board, the more beneficial they are. Together, we really can make a difference!

Small changes that together make a big differenceThere are many small changes we can each make in our daily behaviours, especially in the context of our own homes, to reduce the impact of man on the environment. But let’s take a look at just a few that you could embrace when staying at a City Lodge Hotel…

Actions that save energy include:

1. turning off lights whenever not in the room
2. making sure windows are closed when the air-con is on
3. unplugging electrical equipment when it’s not in use
4. dressing warmly in winter so that you don’t need to turn the heat up as high
5. not filling the kettle up to the top when you only need hot water for one or two cups.

Actions that save water include:

1. choosing to shower instead of bathing
2. turning off the tap while soaping your hands
3. only using the little button on the dual-flushing system when appropriate
4. always making sure all taps are properly turned off.

Other actions that help protect the environment include:

1. using environmentally friendly shampoos and soaps, like those supplied by City Lodge Hotels for our guests
2. using towels for longer than a day – this saves both water and power as fewer towels need washing.

LED lights up our world!

LED light bulbs and lamps are far more energy efficient than their incandescent or fluorescent equivalents. They are also vastly more ecologically friendly, as they contain no toxic materials and are 100% recyclable.

Knowing this, we at City Lodge Hotel Group have over the past year installed roughly 40,000 LED globes in our hotels, 26,000 of which were within hotels that are part of the City Lodge Hotel brand. In addition, over 4,000 other lights were also converted to more energy-efficient options.

Speaking about all the green changes that have been taking place in City Lodge Hotels, Chief Executive Clifford Ross says,“We remain committed to the journey which we embarked upon some years back to reduce our impact on the planet. Our journey meant that we critically evaluated all aspects of our business to positively influence our planet.”

So as you can see we’re going to be doing things a little differently around here from now on and we encourage you to do things a little differently with us!

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa has come of age as a truly pan-African event, by the industry and for the industry, with continent-wide collaboration and celebration to produce the best of Africa, says programme director Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl. She adds: “this year’s gathering at the CTICC in Cape Town had just over 5000 registered attendees from 76 countries, of which 30 African, 1100 delegates, 240 exhibitors, 190 speakers, nine conference tracks, and with a high profile opening session and an industry awards gala dinner it was the biggest event yet in our 14 year history.”

Eskom’s Group Executive Transmission, Mongezi Ntsokolo, lead the high-level panel of experts during the opening session, which included Agnes Dasewicz of the USAID’s Power Africa Initiative and NERSA CEO Phindile Balendi. Other leading delegates and experts who were at the event included Reynolds Dagogo-Jack, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power in Nigeria, Robert Kisubi, Stakeholder Manager at Umeme in Uganda and the World Bank’s water development expert Diego Rodrigues.

Utility industry is maturing
African Utility Week’s Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl says “the focus for 2014 covered the vision for a sustainable African utility sector including topics around the restructuring and privatisation of the Nigeria power sector, delving into what is required to improve the financial viability of water utilities, and the growing concern around the need for water-energy-food nexus initiatives.”

She continues: “it is evident from the frank presentations delivered by industry leaders and through the open conversations during the networking functions that the utility industry is maturing in Africa. This market is the frontier for development and is not willing to copy current formulas without exploring and thoroughly researching solutions that fit the environment.”

African Utility Week Awards
The sold out, inaugural African Utility Week Awards were the hot ticket of the event where the City of Cape Town was named top municipality. Other Awards included best African Power Utility, won by Genesis Electricity Limited of Nigeria; Zambian ZESCO’s MD Cyprian Chitundu was named African Utility Executive of the Year, Uganda’s NWSC won best African Water Utility and Johannesburg’s City Power won the Energy/Water Efficiency award.

CEO Forum
The invitation-only Utility CEO Forum was attended by CEOs and high-level utility executives from countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Namibia, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and particularly focused on short-term, technical wins that utilities can implement. In addition, the discussions examined how utilities manage human capital, the on-going challenges of financing power projects and where utilities can take action to mitigate against finance risk.  The two day meeting was accompanied by time for interaction and networking between the various utility CEOs, and continues to build on the relationships founded at last year’s inaugural meeting.

Expo and free workshops
Some 240 exhibitors displayed the latest technology and services in the industry disciplines of metering, clean power, water, large power users, investment and finance, transmission & distribution, smart grids and generation. Leading local and global names that were there included Accenture, Edison Power Group, Marelli Motori and Yingli Solar.

To assist utilities and large power users become more energy efficient and explore renewable energy options, African Utility Week also teamed up with professional industry bodies for a varied series of free CPD-accredited technical workshops in electrical engineering, energy efficiency and renewable energy that took place on the expo floor. Dozens of delegates also attended site visits to see applications of new technologies and services in action at utility energy and water facilities, industrial premises and companies around Cape Town.

Some feedback from satisfied exhibitors and attendees at African Utility Week:

-    “I congratulate the team on a successful 14th African Utility Week and know the quality and standard will be maintained in years to come.”- Joshua Mgeyekwa, Managing Director, Tanga UWSSA, Tanzania

-    “Having had an opportunity to serve on the Advisory Board for African Utility Week and attend the conference and exhibition enabled me to interact with colleagues, exchange cutting edge technology and appreciate how others deal with both challenges and opportunities in energy.” - David Otwoma, Chief Science Secretary, National Commission for Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and Chairman, Eastern Africa Association for Radiation Protection, Kenya

-    “I was very impressed with the level of service and staff calibre representing the conference organisers. There was always someone available to help and no problem was too difficult to solve. I look forward to working with you again.” - Chris Haw, Managing Director, Solar Future Energy, South Africa

-    “It was a pleasure and I enjoyed the interactions and opportunities for discussion with colleagues from other areas. Compliments to you all on an extremely well-run conference.” -Peter Flower, Director: Water & Sanitation, Utility Services Directorate, City of Cape Town, South Africa

-    “African Utility Week continues to improve and was the best yet. This has turned into a world class event where one gets to network with important role players and key decision makers. We will definitely be back next year.“ - Dean Pratt, General Manager Africa, MarelliMotori, South Africa – platinum sponsors

-    “Many thanks for giving me a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the AUW. It was indeed a most noteworthy experience for me and I look forward to collaborating very closely with AUW in the near future... You guys are an amazing team. And it was really a great experience...” - Ifeoma Malo, Special Assistant on Energy Policy, Office of the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Power, Nigeria

-    “It was a pleasure seeing you again and participating in African Utility Week. You guys did a great job in organizing this massive event. We look forward to the next one.” - Andrea Orzan, Business Development Director Africa, SunEdison

-    “The event is very informative and interesting and I recommend it to anyone in the profession to attend”. - Abiud Kaura, Senior Manager, Nampower, Namibia

-    “Thank you for hosting such a great conference. We enjoyed the focus days, the main conference tracks and the CEO forum. Thank you also for looking after us so well. We achieved what we set out to and would like to build on this going forward. We would like to discuss some future collaboration, especially along the clean energy side.” - Michelle T Davies, Head Partner for Clean Energy Projects, Eversheds – gold sponsors and award winners.

Dates for next year’s African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 12-13 May 2015
Focus days: 11 May 2015
Site visits: 14 May 2015
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Websites: www.african-utility-week.com and www.clean-power-africa.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.

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