Energy Minister Joemat-Pettersson to address African Utility Week in Cape Town in May as Department of Energy becomes official event partner
“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
Practical lessons and success story of City of Cape Town’s unique backyarder project to be showcased at African Utility Week in Cape Town in May
“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
Load shedding does not have to spoil your holiday
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.
African Utility Week returns to Cape Town and shows that Africa is open for business
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.
City Lodge is going green!
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:
- turning off lights whenever not in the room
- making sure windows are closed when the air-con is on
- unplugging electrical equipment when it’s not in use
- dressing warmly in winter so that you don’t need to turn the heat up as high
- not filling the kettle up to the top when you only need hot water for one or two cups.
Actions that save water include:
- choosing to shower instead of bathing
- turning off the tap while soaping your hands
- only using the little button on the dual-flushing system when appropriate
- always making sure all taps are properly turned off.
Other actions that help protect the environment include:
- using environmentally friendly shampoos and soaps, like those supplied by City Lodge Hotels for our guests
- 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!
