Page 13 - AfrElec Week 10

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
loss of N2.31bn on February 27. Within the first six days of March, the sector lost over N12bn.
MANUFACTURING
Siemens licenses Tranos
to manufacture Sivacon S8
switchgear in Nigeria
Nigeria’s Tranos has partnered with Siemens for the manufacturing of metal-enclosed switchgear in Nigeria
This collaboration combines Tranos’ world-class sheet metal designing and manufacturing capability with Siemens’ high quality and innovative power distribution components.
The licensing partnership makes Tranos a LEVEL-1 Technology partner with Siemens and will involve the transfer of cutting-edge technology to Tranos. The SIVACON S8 metal-enclosed switchgear/ panels built by Tranos will come with the Siemens brand and will be available for export.
SIVACON S8 low-voltage power distribution board is Siemens’ proprietary switchgear system with design verification according to IEC 61439-2, meeting the industry’s highest standards and Shell DEP. The SIVACON technology will be used to produce low voltage panels up to 7,000A and motor control centres up to 3,600A. The system is very flexible with the best safety features and digital connectivity.
Both companies have agreed to expand the partnership to include Siemens’ SIMOPRIME medium-voltage metal-enclosed switchgear to 17.5kV and 3,600A by the Q2 2020. This will make Tranos the leading switchgear manufacturer in Africa.
SIMOPRIME medium-voltage switchgear from 17.5 to 24 kV offers the perfect combination of technology, reliability, quality, and service. The air-insulated switchgear
can be ideally combined with SION vacuum
circuit breakers and is type-tested for indoor installation in accordance with IEC 62271- 200.
Jude Abalaka, managing director of Tranos, said, “Tranos is a company that believes in providing value to customers by leveraging on technology. We are happy that Siemens has seen our drive for quality and has chosen to work with us on this. We must also recognise the support of the Executive Secretary of
the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote and his team whose strong support has been instrumental in our expansion drive.”
ESKOM
SA: Stage 4 load shedding to continue
Stage 4 load shedding will continue until Friday, Eskom said on Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement, the power utility said the faulty seawater circulation pump at Koeberg power station outside Cape Town had been repaired and was running again, but that stage 4 load shedding would continue until Friday and that load shedding “at various stages” would continue into the weekend.
Though the pump is repaired, Koeberg’s unit 1 must still be brought back online. “Eskom is in the process of obtaining
regulatory approval in order to synchronise the generating unit back into service by Sunday,” Eskom said.
The power utility suddenly announced Stage 4 load shedding on Tuesday.
Earlier, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha told Fin24 that there was no safety risk “whatsoever” related to the fault and that it had nothing to do with the reactor.
Koeberg supplies around 1 860 MW to the national grid. Around 930 MW of power were lost with the disconnection of Unit 1.
In January Koeberg Unit 1 was switched back on after it was out of commission for planned maintenance.
Eskom is currently using emergency generation reserves, including diesel, to supplement supply.
Legal threats set to stymie
South African unions’
Eskom plan
A plan proposed by South Africa’s biggest labor group to get pension funds and state lenders to refinance part of the state power utility’s gargantuan debt faces hurdles that may be impossible to overcome, Bloomberg reported.
Under the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ so-called social compact, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s 454bn rand ($29bn) of debt will be cut to 200bn rand, with the balance transferred to a specially created entity. That will be funded by the Public Investment Corp., which manages civil servants’ pensions, private retirement funds, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Industrial Development Corp. and other investors.
While the government and lobby group Business Unity South Africa have welcomed COSATU’s plan, the main opposition Democratic Alliance and trade union Solidarity have threatened court action because they say it’ll put workers’ savings at risk. The Public Servants Association, which represents more than 237,000 state employees, has also voiced opposition to the proposals. The standoffs could take years to resolve.
COSATU, which is part of the nation’s ruling alliance and represents 1.8mn workers, has also said the rescue plans hinges on Eskom and the government agreeing to a range of preconditions that will be legally problematic to meet.
SA cabinet divided over Eskom
As Stage 4 load shedding hit South Africa at the same time as Covid-19 – the disease caused by the novel coronavirus – and a market rout, a cabinet divide on the energy path to follow has widened.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s December plan is now more than 100 days old and no emergency power has been procured as he promised when South Africa was hit by a festive season of power cuts up to Stage 6, the Daily maverick reported
And neither the executive, nor the
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