Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses government’s proposal to set up a dedicated entity to procure new electricity transmission infrastructure from the private sector and the role government expects the private sector to play in the area of the grid.
Plan to apply the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for low-voltage electric motors in South Africa have been hailed by solutions provider WEG Africa as an exciting step toward energy efficiency and a lower carbon future for the industry. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition recently announced its intention to put a stop to imports of low-efficiency motors – in the power rating range from 0.75 kW to 375 kW – in favour of motors in the efficiency class of IE3 and above.
South Africa’s electricity problems have left the country without power for many hours a day, causing grave difficulties for businesses and households, notes power generation and electromechanical power transmission product supplier Vert Energy. “The inability of the country’s primary electricity supplier to meet demand has called for the private sector to step up and provide solutions that help keep businesses, education facilities, hospitals and more running, in the event of power outages and loadshedding,” explains Vert Energy sales and marketing director Ryan Robertson.