ESI-AFRICA.COM - The Power Journal of Africa

Kenya: Investment needed for geothermal power production

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:59:23 +0100

16 March 2010 - As hydro-powered electricity becomes more unreliable in Kenya, authorities in the East African nation have stated that investment is needed for alternative energy projects.

Sh80 billion is required to produce 600MW of geothermal power over the next three years, and in order to achieve this, 100 wells across will see drilling in order to reach this capacity.

South Africa to prioritise Power Purchase Agreements for IPPs

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:20:48 +0100

16 March 2010 - The South African government’s commitment to "put an end to the chapter" of independent power producers (IPPs) struggling to conclude power purchase agreements (PPAs) was reaffirmed by Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Enoch Godongwana this week.

According to Godongwana, the South African government cannot leave that issue to Eskom any longer. He admitted that the government had made a mistake in 1998 by proposing the introduction of IPPs, without much follow up. "We didn't take the whistle from Eskom. Eskom remained a player and a referee ... We want to settle that matter as soon as possible," said Godongwana.

High-level Angolan investment and power forums to facilitate infrastructure development

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:37:10 +0100

15 March 2010 - Senior Angolan cabinet members will head up the contingent of high-level dignitaries and experts addressing prospective investors in May during the iPAD Angola and Power Industry Forum events in Luanda. Angola’s Energy minister, H.E. Emanuela Afonso Vieira Lopes, and the Secretary of State for Industry, Kiala Gabriel, will highlight investment opportunities and partnerships in Angola’s industrial and power sectors.

The iPAD (Infrastructure Partnerships for African Development) events are well-known and respected high-level investment forums on the continent.

Says Piera Abbott, conference director for iPAD Angola: “We are thrilled that, once again, we have such high-level support and participation from the Angolan government, which emphasises their commitment to making Angola an investment-friendly destination for the power and infrastructure sectors.”

Following the very successful first iPAD Angola conference and product showcase last year, this year’s event takes place from 4-5 May 2010, and again provides a networking platform for participants to investigate opportunities in key infrastructure verticals, including investment & financing, mining, oil & gas, transport, construction, water, ICT & telecoms.

Highlights include:

Kenya wind project to sell stake to IDC

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:12:33 +0100

12 March 2010 - A 70% stake in Kenya's Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) will be offloaded to South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation and London-based energy firm Aldwych International.

LTWP is building a 300 MW wind farm in Kenya, with the first 50 MW feeding into the national grid by the end of June 2011.

"The structure we are looking at is that by the time we reach financial close and we move into construction phase, the shareholding of Lake Turkana Wind Power will be 51% Aldwych, 19% for IDC South Africa and a 30% by KP&P, the original owners," said LTWP's Carlo Van Wageningen.

PBMR restructuring could signify 75% job loses

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:33:45 +0100

10 March 2010 - The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Company (PBMR) is to begin large scale restructuring which could see up to 75% of the 800 strong workforce lose their jobs.

Tom Ferreira, PBMR spokesperson, said that the staff were expected to be absorbed by institutions like Eskom and the Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), as well as private engineering companies.

Siemens focusing on renewable energy

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:55:55 +0100

10 March 2010 - Siemens Energy Southern Africa, a supplier to Eskom's coal-fired plants and pumped storage schemes, aimed to expand its renewable energy unit into its biggest division, chief executive Dion Govender said this week.

Govender said Siemens Energy was currently involved in the development of about 16 renewable energy projects in South Africa.

Nuclear energy might soon be a reality for North African countries

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:59:36 +0100

9 March 2010 - Agreements between the government of France and the North African governments of Algeria, Libya and Tunisia have been signed during the past 2 years to establish frameworks for France to provide these North African governments with the expertise necessary to allow them to add nuclear power to their national energy matrices.

Egypt has had such an agreement with France for some time now - although it was dormant for a number of years, it has more recently been reactivated.

World Bank believe power sector on verge of transformation

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:27:14 +0100

5 March 2010 - According to Obiageli Ezekwesili, vice president at the World Bank, the next developmental leap for Africa will be in the power sector. Just as new technology and legal reform transformed the African telecoms market, Ezekwesili believes that a similar transformation could make a difference to Africa’s power sector.

Hwange power station on thin ice

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:14:48 +0100

4 March 2010 - Six generation units at the 750 MW Hwange thermal power station, which is producing only 50MW due to recurrent breakdowns of its ageing plants, might be decommissioned according to recent media reports.

The country is battling power shortages, which mining houses and industrialists say are a threat to the recovery of the economy.

Nigeria gas-to-power goals reachable

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:48:11 +0100

2 March 2010 - Nigeria’s Federal Government recently gave major gas companies in the large West African nation the goal of providing one billion metric tonnes of gas supply daily for power plant across Nigeria..

In response, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have conceded that this is a realistic target as long as the government puts in place measures to monitor the gas supply chain from the producers

Nersa backs close on doubling in power tariffs

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:13:08 +0100

24 February 2010 - The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) announced on Wednesday that the proposed electricity tariff hike has been approved and will be increased by 24.8% starting from April 1st, 2010. Furthermore, Nersa has already approved future power tariff increase of 25.8% on April 1st, 2011 and 25.9% on April 1st, 2012. Ultimately this means that current electricity prices in South Africa will be close to doubled by April 2012.

Power industry heroes rewarded at African Utility Week

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:22:02 +0100

24 February 2010 - On the eve of Nersa announcement, Dipuo says government not in favour of rapid rates increases

The CEO of Zimbabwe’s electricity utility, Zesa (Zimbabwe Electric Supply Authority), Engineer Benjamin Rafemoyo, was named the Utility CEO of the Year at this year’s African Utility Week in Durban. Some 1700 power professionals from over 50 countries descended on Durban for the 10th event, the largest utility event on the continent.

Uganda takes strides to meet future electricity demand

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:24:31 +0100

23 February 2010 - The Energy Minister of Uganda recently announced that the Bujagali Dam in Jinja is scheduled to start producing 250MW of hydropower by the middle of next year.

Simon D'Ujanga, Minister of State for Energy, said the commissioning of the dam has been delayed for some time now due to its construction. Despite efforts from the government to speed up the process, sub-surface complications have inhibited construction. It is now predicated that construction will continue until the middle of next year.

Energie du Mali upgrades meter reading equipment

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:14:02 +0100

22 February 2010 - Energie du Mali (EDM) is upgrading the handheld units used by its meter readers, with the first of approximately 250 DAP Technologies' CE3240B rugged handheld computers being deployed this month to zone agents throughout the western African nation.

EDM is one of first utilities companies in Africa to transition to a computer-based system for reading meters and logging customer usage with DAP's CE5000B in use since 2004. While the CE3240B packs in many of the same features as its predecessor with enhanced functionality and processing power, the overall design of the unit has been overhauled to make it smaller and lighter and thus lessen user fatigue.

APR Energy announces commercial operation of 70MW Botswana power facility

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:17:04 +0100

19 February 2010 - APR Energy (APR) is pleased to announce that its latest power plant has recently commenced commercial operation. The 70MW/ 11kV power project is located approximately 30 kilometers outside of Francistown, in eastern Botswana. The power facility was installed by APR Energy and will continue to be operated and maintained by APR throughout the length of the contract with the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). Power from the Francistown power project will be delivered from the plant to the regional primary power grid, known as the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Out of all the plants in use by the 14 SAPP member utilities, APR’s Francistown power project is the largest temporary power plant of its kind to be connected.