POWER-GEN
Featured image: #PGAfrica

ESI Africa covered the highlights from the 2018 POWER-GEN & distribuTECH Africa conference, which hosted 50 VIPs, industry stakeholders and future leaders over three days in South Africa.

Congratulations!

2018 winning papers:

Track A: Electricity Industry Strategy Best Paper Winner—Ndamulelo Mararakanye, research engineer at the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Track B: Thermal Power Generation Best Paper Winner— Hans-Jürgen Behnke, head of external operation & maintenance portfolio at RWE Technology, Germany.

Track C: Renewable Energy Best Paper Winner— Bunty Kiremire, senior applications leader microgrid energy systems at Eaton Electric, South Africa.

Track D: Power Delivery & Customers Best Paper Winner— Tumisang Penelope Maphumulo, corporate specialist power lines at Eskom, South Africa.

Congratulations to Cyndhu Sriram who received the Highest Score at the GEN-X Theatre Programme and will travel to European Utility Week in Vienna.

See you next year!

POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa will see you next year in Cape Town and will be co-located with African Utility Week. Diarise the dates: 14 – 16 May 2019.

David Ashdown, managing director of Clarion Energy South Africa (Spintelligent) and Glenn Ensor, managing director of PennWell international, said the co-location of the events was in line with global trends to present end-to-end infrastructure and power conferences and exhibitions for the entire value chain.

Read the full story here.

Make the most of your last day at #PGAfrica

Closing session debates the trends and challenges in capitalising on the disruptive landscape to ensure business growth.

Lawrence Jones from Edison Electric Institute, US claims that distributed generation alone cannot ensure energy access to the 600 million Africans without electricity. His view is that electricity is so infrastructure-intensive that you cannot apply other sectors’ recipes (e.g. telecom).

Last day to network with your potential customers and generate leads for the upcoming year. The exhibition hall is now open till 15:00 today (Thursday, 19 July).


Visitor at POWER-GEN walks away with prize

Gen-X Theatre takes the floor on #MandelaDay

South African students are showcasing their work and engaging with leaders in the power field at POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa.


The Gen-X Theatre, pioneered by POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa advisory board member Bertha Dlamini three years ago, gives the next generation of power sector professionals a unique opportunity to present their ideas and engage with industry leaders and VIPs from across the continent and the world.

Overheard at #PGAfrica

 

Seen last night at the networking session

Industry power events join forces in 2019

As the power and generation industries converge and overlap with disruptive digital technologies and broader infrastructure development, the end-to-end model becomes increasingly necessary, reflecting the state of the industry, said David Ashdown, managing director of Clarion Energy South Africa (Spintelligent).

Read the full story here.

SA Integrated Resource Plan nears completion

South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), expected to be finalised in the course of the next month, will give Eskom and other power stakeholders clarity and direction, says Eskom Chairman Jabu Mabuza.

Opening Africa’s premier power sector event, POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2018, at the Sandton Convention Centre on Tuesday morning, Mabuza said South Africa was making strides in integrating renewables and increasing capacity to meet the power needs of its people.

Jabu Mabuza
Eskom Chairman, Jabu Mabuza, addresses the POWER-GEN & distribuTECH Africa 2018 keynote.

However, he noted: “We need to continuously remember to balance our journey to the new with the old structures, and the consequences of that journey. So the whole issue of transition is one that we continuously grapple with.”

Read the full story here.

Africa must respond to power challenges as a collective

Massive change is underway in Africa’s power sector, and unless the continent’s power sector adapts to the changes and embraces new models and new technologies, it risks its future profitability, pan-African stakeholders heard ahead of POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa.

Dr Willie de Beer, power expert and chairperson of the POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa advisory board, says the power sector is operating in a disruptive landscape, in which the kw/h business is no longer sustainable and change is driven by customers. “This industry has tended to keep out competition through rules, laws and regulations. The reality is that customers don’t care about rules, laws and regulations,” he says.

Read the full story here.

Tomorrow (18 July), in honour of Nelson Mandela Day, South African students have an opportunity to showcase their work and engage with leaders in the power field at POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa next week.

The Gen-X Theatre, pioneered by POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa advisory board member Bertha Dlamini three years ago, gives the next generation of power sector professionals a unique opportunity to present their ideas and engage with industry leaders and VIPs from across the continent and the world.

 

50 VIPs at POWER-GEN

Fifty pan-African power sector VIPs are attending the continent’s premier power conference and expo, POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa, in Sandton this week. The VIPs, brought to South Africa by POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa, represent utilities, legislators and power sector stakeholders from across sub-Saharan Africa.

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