PacB Group // Generators for the People of South Africa and Beyond

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Generators for the People of South Africa and Beyond

Currently, in South Africa, increasing numbers of South Africans are acquiring generators, principally as standby sources of electricity during outages, which result in their areas being without mains electricity. Outages are caused by a wide variety of factors, which may have a single or combined adverse effect on electricity supply.

15 Key Reasons for Disrupted Power Supplies:

• Demand exceeds availability when generators‘ power-production capacity is insufficient to supply all grid-connected users simultaneously.
• Excessive demand during peak hours when the usage of electricity is at its highest point.
• Power trips at substations.
• Generating equipment fails or breaks down
• The cause and location of faults may not be immediately apparent. Consequently, delays in restoration of power may occur while the type of fault is identified, and its exact location is determined. The actual problem can only then be addressed and corrected.
• Inferior design and/or build quality at certain power stations.
• Much of the electricity infrastructure throughout South Africa is old and thus in need of upgrades.
• Maintenance of equipment has not taken place at all or has been inadequate.
• Spare parts for worn-out components are not readily or immediately available when replacements are required.
• Technicians and teams who are responsible for fixing faults or reconnecting electricity are not on duty, or they are busy attending to outages elsewhere.
• Outages at night leave customers literally and figuratively completely in the dark and are particularly bothersome since Eskom technicians can only resume their duties the next morning.
• The bulk of South Africa‘s generators which provide the country with electricity are coal-burning. When anything goes wrong with the coal supply, the associated logistics, material handling equipment, coal stockpiles, and reserves, or the quality of the coal, these massive generators cannot run at full capacity or at all.
• If a generator problem occurs and the unit has been shut down at a power station, there may be a lengthy delay in the restoration of electricity. Restarting the unit and restoring its generators is typically a complex, lengthy process, not achieved by merely flicking a switch from “off” to “on”.
• Post-shutdown, it usually takes even longer for generators to reach their full power-generating capacity, provided that full-capacity operation is possible.
• This time-lapse is a typical feature of restarting generators after repairs, and routine maintenance checks have been completed. Post-service commissioning of the power plant may also be a requirement.

Dependence on Electricity

In existing or developing modern countries, such as South Africa, virtually every sphere of life depends on a reliable, constant supply of electricity. Without this, many convenient or essential aspects of life and modern infrastructure cease to function or perform optimally. Industries and functions that are affected by such disruption include:

• agriculture,
• food production and processing,
• refrigeration, heating, and cooling,
• mining,
• urban infrastructure,
• commerce and industry,
• factories such as processing and production plants,
• banking and financial services,
• the IT industry,
• households,
• tourism,
• entertainment and hospitality industries,
• hospitals, healthcare facilities, and emergency services,
• regulation of traffic flow that affects road safety,
• vital investment confidence; and
• the state of the national South African economy.

Generator Suppliers

These are some of the reasons why generator suppliers have selected South Africa as their operational base from which they help to ensure that the electricity needs and demands of clients here and throughout Africa are satisfied – those who choose or are compelled to make certain that they have reliable electricity at all times, irrespective of national grid performance.

They’re among the clients who rely on the renowned PacB Group, which manufactures and supplies a range of superior generators for all applications, including sites that require a custom-designed power-providing setup, regardless of location or industry.

Many clients regard the PacB Group and its comprehensive range of power solutions and services as their preferred one-stop power shop for generators. For more information on power supplies in South Africa chat to us today.