How does “Load Limiting” work?

City Power, the electrical power provider in Johannesburg, South Africa, has begun implementing what it called a “load-limiting” scheme in its areas of supply, in its quest to mitigate the effects of a power supply shortage that has been hounding the country for months.

In a recent statement, the utility provider said consumers who would experience recurrent electricity disconnections should reduce their power consumption by switching-off non-essential appliances and installations, like geysers, stoves or pool pumps.

The utility further explained that customers with an excessive power consumption would experience repetitive disconnections for 30 seconds at five minute intervals until they have reduced their electricity usage to required levels. In case these customers were not successful in limiting their consumption, they would be completely disconnected from the electrical power source through a smart meter that could be remotely controlled.

As of press time, City Power said that they have installed 92,000 smart meters since April, and planned to install a further 30,000 by the end of this month.

The electricity provider gave further details: In the first two weeks of the implementation of the scheme, household electricity usage would be limited to 21 Amps between 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM, touted to be the peak hours when the grid would generally be under severe constraint. After such period, load-limiting would concurrently run with the load shedding schedule, which would accordingly be published on the City Power website.

City Power Managing Director Sicelo Xulu said that when each household reduced consumption to required levels during periods of constrained supply, the affected areas would be spared from being subjected to load shedding, as limiting energy consumption during the hours of peak demand would lessen the pressure on the grid.

Watch Xulu explain the mechanics of load-limiting: https://youtu.be/Q8HbThivqmo

Epilogue

Load-limiting and load shedding are necessary, though inconvenient, procedures where electricity is shut down, either partially or totally, to avoid overloading the electricity system. They are usually implemented when the demand for electricity goes beyond the ability of the system to supply it.

Load-limiting and load shedding are detrimental to progress wherever and whenever they are applied. Switching off power to key areas to reduce demand for energy is an inconvenience that can be avoided by hiring interim power plants to support existing power grids or on-site power generation facilities.

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PRESS INQUIRIES
Robert Bagatsing
Altaaqa Global
Tel: +971 56 1749505
rbagatsing@altaaqaglobal.com

Is Energy Shortage Really the Problem?

Many countries around the world have been facing energy challenges that have been hampering the growth of their economies, and bringing unspeakable social and economic suffering to their residents and industries.

These countries often attribute the crisis to an insufficiency in energy supply, but industry experts think otherwise. They say that if we were only able to capture and use the energy from just two minutes of sunlight, it would be sufficient to fuel everyone’s cars, light and heat buildings and provide for all other electricity needs for not less than an entire year. They retain that the world is not facing an energy supply shortage – what it is up against is a technical challenge in capturing energy and delivering it to consumers.

A large part of today’s energy challenges can be attributed to energy utilization – from conflicts over fuel supplies and uncertainties about environmentally harmful emissions, to lost productivity and output owing to load shedding and persistent power outages. In many of the most depressed areas of the world, the lack of electricity reins in economic progress. Around the world, more than 1.3 billion people have no access to reliable electricity, and more than 2.5 billion does not have modern cooking facilities. Out of these, more than 95% resides in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Sub-Continent and developing Asia.

Industry thought leaders retain that the global energy crisis is exacerbated by the observed lack of innovation, particularly towards efficient electricity delivery. A study by the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory of the United States government revealed that more than 60% of the energy the world uses was lost between the time it was generated and the time it was consumed. This fact, the research added, could be ascribed to inefficiency in converting fossil fuels to electricity, losses during transmission and consumer behavior.

Industry experts believe that innovations in waste elimination, pollution reduction and broadening of access to energy the world over can very well alleviate the present situation. They call on industry stakeholders to develop energy boosting technologies and equipment that can guarantee an efficient delivery of electricity to remote areas that are currently unconnected.

In this light, large-scale rental power plants, among other available energy technologies, may represent an excellent short- to medium-term solution to the world’s ongoing electricity challenges. Modern temporary power plants are infused with the latest technologies that allow them to run on more environmentally friendly fuels, like gas or dual-fuel, that render them not only sustainable but also more efficient.

They are also equipped with state-of-the-art protection systems and engines that make them capable of directly connecting to grid of any site in any country around the world, and of precisely producing the exact amount of electricity needed by any client at any time. For instance, a 100 MW rental power plant has the ability to actually produce 100 MW when the customer calls for it.

As they are compact and containerized, they can be transported from and to any place on Earth, even to the remote, unconnected areas.

They are fully supported, maintained and serviced by the rental power service providers, from installation to decommissioning, so they also provide huge savings to the governments and tax-payers by avoiding large capital expenditure.

It is important to note that while there may exist technologies with enhanced efficiency and optimized electricity generation and transmission capabilities, a large part of the responsibility is still in the hands of the energy users. It is not enough to generate and transmit electricity – to be able to improve the world’s energy situation, the onus to properly and resourcefully utilize electricity is still on us.

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PRESS INQUIRIES
Robert Bagatsing
Altaaqa Global
Tel: +971 56 1749505
rbagatsing@altaaqaglobal.com

Energy: The Oxygen of the Economy and the Life-blood of Growth

Zambia is currently experiencing a sever electricity shortage that has brought about the worst load shedding program the country has ever needed to employ. Because of the prevailing low-rain season, the water level in the country’s reservoirs has been consistently low – a fact that compelled Zesco to ration power generation and, ultimately, apply load shedding. When Zesco, the state-owned power company in Zambia, informed the public about the low water levels from which it generates electricity, few people lent their ears. Now, unusually extended hours of power cuts have been haunting Zambians….

Many residents have already been lamenting about the disastrous consequences of the power shortage on their homes and livelihoods. Zambia’s government, however, has been planning to roll out electricity-related projects that aim to mitigate the effects of the persisting hydrologic imbalance.

Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development Christopher Yaluma has reportedly informed Zambia’s parliament that the government had been taking the necessary steps to import between 150-200 MW of electricity as an interim solution to cushion the power shortage. If this pushes through, there should be no load shedding in Zambia for the financial year 2015, because Zesco had also projected the production of 12,900 MW based on earlier indications from the country’s meteorology department of normal to above-normal rains for the season.

Zesco, in cooperation with other power generation companies in the country, has also been working on several projects to include more electricity in the national grid.

To complement the country’s drive to enhance its electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, Zambia can also choose to hire the services of rental power generation companies, which are able to provide temporary power plants to bridge the gap in electricity anytime and anywhere.

Rental power plants represent a fast-track, large-scale solution to the energy challenges plaguing not only Zambia but any given country in the world. Temporary power plants are a reliable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective answer to power shortages no matter its extent and degree. They are equipped with the latest technology, allowing them to be configured to produce the exact amount of electricity as required, and to be connected to a site’s existing power infrastructure regardless of its condition or age. As they are compact and containerized, they can be transported from and to anywhere in the world, and can be installed and commissioned in as little as days – not months, not years. Most importantly, they can offer the government and the tax-payers notable savings, because hiring rental power plants do not involve a large CAPEX.

Zambia’s power sector is presently dominated by hydroelectric power, which has not been adequate to meet the demand. Thus, the country is currently looking beyond hydropower and taking the initial steps to diversify its electricity sources.  Electricity is the ‘oxygen’ of the economy and the life-blood of growth, and the recent instances of severe load shedding has reminded the country about the reality that its power generation sector requires crucial new investment in order to meet the growing energy requirements of its residents and industries.

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PRESS INQUIRIES

Robert Bagatsing

Altaaqa Global

Tel: +971 56 1749505

rbagatsing@altaaqaglobal.com