PacB Group // Greater Reliance on Generators by Industries in Gauteng

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Greater Reliance on Generators by Industries in Gauteng

Although it may be the smallest of South Africa’s nine provinces, Gauteng is by far the most populated and its inhabitants are among the main generators of the nation’s wealth. As an industrial and commercial powerhouse, its continued operation, and the resulting contribution to the national economy, is dependent on maintaining a sustained flow of electrical power to mines, manufacturing plants, financial institutions, medical facilities, and the extensive hospitality industry. Should that flow cease, the result could be equally disastrous for employers, employees, and their dependents.

The fact that the supply of electricity is no longer as reliable as it once was, has become a matter for serious concern. As a result, many companies are now as reliant on the power from their own generators as on that from Eskom’s power stations. Nowhere is this more evident than in Gauteng. As the demand for electricity has escalated, the national service provider has struggled to meet that demand, which has made it necessary for Eskom to adopt conservative measures. In practice, this has meant the introduction of load shedding and rolling blackouts, in order to make the best use of the available power at times when the demand is at its highest.

Historically, however, there has always been a need for a variety of industries to have their own generators, not just in Gauteng, but all across South Africa and throughout the industrialised world. At times of peak loading, even the normal 3-phase supply to industrial users will often prove insufficient to maintain full production. Therefore, it is necessary, in many instances, for a plant to supplement the mains supply with power produced on the premises. Once the period of peak demand subsides, the plant can revert to powering its machinery from the mains supply alone.

In other instances, generators are used as a backup option rather than a source of supplementary power. Most of the increased demand for diesel generators, by different organisations in Gauteng, can be directly attributed to the need to cater for the increased likelihood of power outages. Whatever the reason for installing an on-site power source, much of its real value will depend upon how quickly and reliably it can start working on those occasions when it is required.

It is, of course, quite possible to initiate the transition to an emergency or augmented power supply, and to control its output manually, but automating these processes is far more efficient and carries a substantially smaller risk of causing unproductive downtime. The processes can be automated by means of a programmable control panel. When there is an increase or decrease in load demand, the output of generators will be adjusted accordingly. As is often necessary in Gauteng, a control panel can be pre-programmed to synchronise the in-house source with the mains a few minutes before a planned outage, and to support the load until it detects that the power from the mains has returned. This way, the control panels guarantee seamless transitions without any interruption to a plant’s production line.

While the race to increase the production of electricity and to improve its distribution is now well underway, it seems unlikely that the demand for this vital commodity for various industries will cease to increase or even to slow down any time soon. What is certain is that a continuous supply is crucial to many companies in Gauteng and South Africa, and that reliable generators offer the reassurance they need. To guarantee those needs are met, many have chosen the PacB Group to design, assemble, supply, and maintain quality gensets and control panels tailored to their specific requirements.