Following the South African Government’s announcement of a national state of disaster and subsequent ban on public gatherings of over 100 people, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clarion Events Africa (formerly Spintelligent) is rescheduling African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa. The event, which was due to take place from 12-14 May, will now run from 24 - 26 November 2020. The venue - CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa – remains unchanged. African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa attracts over 10,000 people from more than 90 countries and is the largest energy show in Africa. 2020 marks its 20th anniversary. “The health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors, employees and the wider public is of paramount importance to us,” said managing director David Ashdown. “Following the Government’s announcement, we have worked with industry to reschedule African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa to November, in order to minimise potential health risks to those connected to the event. “It is expected that the current challenges presented by the Coronavirus will slow down significantly within the next few months, which means the new November date for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa will allow us to deliver the most meaningful event in terms of maximising ROI for our exhibitors and excellent content and experiences for our visitors. “The power sector in South Africa is facing incredibly challenging times. By committing to running the event this year, Clarion Events Africa can continue to drive energy security on the continent, support the local industry and provide business-critical market opportunities to support our exhibitors’ future prosperity.” A spokesperson for South Africa’s national power utility, Eskom, said: “Eskom recognises the role that this event plays in addressing the challenges facing the provision of electricity on the continent. We recognise that COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges and are glad that a solution has been …
Mining Review Africa hosts live discussion on Tailings Storage Facilities in Cape Town
The controversial issue of Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) construction and management following a spate of disasters over the last 24 months was unpacked during a breakfast discussion by leading mining services companies Fraser Alexander, Knight Piesold and Webber Wentzel on the sidelines of the annual Investing in Africa Mining Indaba event in Cape Town this week. Hosted by leading, African-focused mining trade journal Mining Review Africa, the discussion focused on the importance of integrated TSF management and attracting investment while containing risk. A TMF/TSF is a storage area for post-processed ore at a mining operation. It typically comprises a fine-grained material with uneconomic mineral content that is often transported and deposited there as a slurry, from which excess water is recovered. The method of impoundment varies for each mine. The mining industry will never be the same again following an iron ore tailings dam failure in Brazil in January 2019. As a result, far greater transparency is being requested by investors and insurers with regards to TSF management structures, in addition to requirements by regulators and broader stakeholders. Read more about the environment Regulators are reviewing their guidelines and minimum requirements for design, operation and closure of tailings facilities. This includes international groups such as the International Commission of Large Dams (ICOLD) and the International Council for Mining and Metallurgy (ICMM). Building on and unpacking this topic in far greater detail, the TSF breakfast discussion was led by: - John Wates, Chairman, Fraser Alexander - Andrew Copeland, Technical Director, Knight Piésold Southern Africa - Rashaad Carrim, Partner, Webber Wentzel - Le Roux van den Berg, Loss Adjuster, Lloyd Warwick The discussion focused specifically on the following aspects: • strategic risks facing organisation executives • factors to determine appropriate executive level …
African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa wins AAXO ROAR Awards again!
African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa, the leading energy event on the continent for the last 20 years, has clinched once again the AAXO ROAR Award for Best Trade Exhibition in the 12000+ sqm category. The event is organised by the multi-award-winning Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser Clarion Events Africa (formerly Spintelligent). The ROAR* Organiser and Exhibitor Awards took place in Johannesburg last week and honoured excellence in the exhibition and events industry on the continent during 2019. The awards are organised by the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO). *ROAR = Respect, Opportunities, Achievement, Recognition It is the third time that African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa walks away with top honours at the AAXO ROAR Awards. The event also received a distinction for its Operations & Logistics in its category. ICE Africa, Clarion Events’ ground-breaking gaming expo, also won a distinction for its Operations & Logistics in the 6000 sqm trade show exhibition category. “We are delighted and very proud to have won the AAXO ROAR Award again, especially in the year that we celebrate our 20th anniversary,” says Chanelle Hingston, Power & Energy Portfolio director at Clarion Events Africa. “Winning this category for the fourth time is testimony to the entire team’s continued and sustained hard work and dedication to keep innovating the event and keeping it fresh. However, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa would not be successful without our valued partners, sponsors, exhibitors, delegates and visitors, who, year after year, support us in our vision and goal to produce a relevant and ground-breaking industry platform. It is now more apparent than ever that South Africa and indeed the entire continent’s economic future depends on the strength and sustainability of its energy and water sector and we are proud to be part of that journey.” More about AUW & PGAF The 20th annual …
Financing energy projects in Africa: “the traditional business model needs to change”
“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 …
African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa announces media partnership with The Mail & Guardian
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 …
ESI Africa on load-shedding: Knowledge is power!
“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 …
World Water Day on 22 March: “Leaving no one behind”
A Cape Town bottling plant has managed to reduce its waste water by over 60%, saving more than 90 million litres of municipal water since January 2017. The Epping-based The Beverage Company produces over 1.5 million bottles of carbonated soft drinks per week and uses on average 30 000 litres of water per hour. According to the plant manager David Putterill, last year’s looming Day Zero for water supply in Cape Town had less impact on the business “due to the various actions we took in advance of the crisis. In mid-2016 we started various projects to save water and these are on-going. In the last year we have sustained our water saving so that even though the water restrictions have been partially lifted, we keep the same focus on saving water.” World Water Day, a UN initiative, is celebrated on 22 March every year and focuses on the importance of water and this year’s theme is ‘Leaving no one behind’, adapting the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that as sustainable development progresses, everyone must benefit. Water conference in May Water also remains one of the key topics and discussion points at the annual African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town, where from 14-16 May, the conference will bring together experts from public and private sectors to support municipalities as they become more responsive and efficient in their water practices. Part of this knowledge exchange are the technical site visits taking place on 17 May, including at The Beverage Company bottling plant. “Delegates will see the bottling plant and the water saving projects that were implemented that helped us reduce our waste water and saving million of litres of municipal water” says The Beverage Company’s David Putterill. “They will also see our alternative water supply project that we have initiated to reduce our dependence on the municipal water supply by installing our own boreholes and reverse osmosis plant.” He adds: “it has been …
African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa announces media partnership with African News Agency
The organisers of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, have announced that they have entered into a media partnership with African News Agency (ANA), a continent-wide multimedia content dissemination platform in the run-up to the event that is taking place from 14-16 May in Cape Town. ANA will also have a presence on the expo floor. 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. “We’re excited to partner with African News Agency” says African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa event director Evan Schiff, “over the last couple of years ANA has been able to fill a real need in the market for the effective distribution of news, particularly across Africa.” “For ANA, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the perfect strategic forum to meet leading global and African professionals in the energy and water sectors” says ANA CEO Grant Fredericks. He adds: “our mission is to deliver authentic African content, in the form of locally produced stories, images, videos and valuable data, to the world and this event has proven to have been a consistent source of great news content and expert interviews over the years. Our strategic media partnerships across the African continent guarantee that we share and produce ground-breaking content on the hour, by the hour. We look forward to provide many of the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa sponsors, exhibitors and speakers with our services onsite.” 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, …
African Utility Week gets seal of approval from U.S. Department of Commerce for greater American presence at the event
Mother City to welcome back 10 000+ energy and water professionals Photo: Spintelligent and U.S. Department of Commerce The 19th edition of the multi-award-winning African Utility Week conference and exhibition in Cape Town has obtained official U.S. Trade Fair Certification from the U.S. Department of Commerce, paving the way for a greater American participation at the event in Cape Town from 14-16 May next year. Along with the recently acquired, co-located event POWERGEN Africa, the event gathers the largest group of power, energy and water professionals in the African market. “We are delighted to announce that U.S. Trade Certification has been granted, with the United States officially endorsing the event. We are looking forward to working with the U.S. Commercial Service over the next few months to facilitate U.S. participation at the event” says Edgar Baron, International Sales and Business Development Manager for Spintelligent, the organisers of African Utility Week. He adds: “U.S. exhibitors will be able to connect with 10 000+ attendees from over 80 countries over the 3-day exhibition and conference and generate leads and qualified business enquiries showcasing their innovative solutions and build partnerships at the leading power, energy and water expo in Africa.” The U.S. Commercial Service/ITA team will be providing export assistance to U.S. exhibitors. B2B matchmaking meetings with utilities, energy providers and Government officials will be available to U.S. exhibitors. 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 Germany, India, Denmark, France and Canada have already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May 2019 at the CTICC in Cape Town. At least four more country pavilions are expected on the exhibition floor. Industry support A multi-award-winning …
GGDA partners with African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit in Sandton this week
The opening session of the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit in Sandton this week will feature keynote addresses by Mr Muzi Mathema, the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency’s Acting Group Executive: Trade, Investment and Regulatory Enablement, as well as the CEO of the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone, Mrs Seipati Mangadi. The opportunities and challenges in the South African property sector, from commercial to residential, will be in focus at the summit that returns to Sandton from Thursday, 11 October. Some 200 property professionals are expected to attend this award-winning real estate event, including Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba. The Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) is the headline sponsor for the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit with the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone (GIDZ), a subsidiary company of the GGDA, also represented and speaking at the event. The conference theme is: “Examining the commercial, industrial and residential development landscape in South Africa”, and programme highlights include: Day 1 – Thursday, 11 October 2018: • 09:00-09:30 Opening Keynote: Investing in South Africa: How African capital cities are leading the way - Muzi Mathema, Acting Group Executive: Trade, Investment and Regulatory Enablement at Gauteng Growth and Development Agency At the GGDA, Mr Mathema is successfully leading the division responsible for promoting trade and exports in and out of the Gauteng Province, as well as the facilitation of both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) into the Gauteng Province. The function serves to drive economic growth and job creation, through value added facilitation of targeted investment in strategic sectors and delivering trade linkages globally. Additionally, through engagements with public sector stakeholders, potential investors, entrepreneurs, inward and outward trade missions, he is tasked to strategically …