PacB Group // More Generators Destined for Sale to Industry and Commerce

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More Generators Destined for Sale to Industry and Commerce

It is sad to say, but load shedding has become part of life in South Africa, just as braaivleis and potjiekos. Established in 1923, the parastatal body took over from municipalities and private companies to become the biggest supplier of electricity in Africa, and one of the top seven utilities in the world in terms of its generation capacity. Attempts by government to privatise Eskom following the 1994 democratic elections led to severe underfunding, which, by 2008, necessitated the controversial introduction of rolling blackouts and a marked broadening of the demand for generators normally reserved for sale to industry.

Unlike those used by the national service provider, which are predominately coal-fired and supported by hydroelectric and gas turbine units, most industries tend to rely on diesel engines to provide the motive power for on-site electricity production. They are powerful, robust and reliable, and suitable for use as a primary power source, as a means to augment the mains power supply at times of peak load demand, or to serve as an emergency backup in the event of a scheduled or unplanned interruption to the mains supply. Fears regarding the loss of production, profits, and competitive edge due to stage three load shedding accounts for much of the increased sale of generators to the industrial sector.

In parallel, the demand from the commercial sector has been increasing, with a growing number of hotels, restaurants, hospitals, and educational establishments all requiring some assurance of a continuous supply of electrical power in the face of frequent mains outages. In this sector too, diesel units tend to be the preferred choice, but some users have a preference for the quieter and more eco-friendly operation provided by the newer models driven by natural gas.

Continuity of supply may be important to industry, but to hospitals, it can be vital. Consequently, many of the generators intended for sale to these sectors will be supplied with programmable control panels. The facility enables the owner to pre-programme a sequence of events that will ensure that the supply is never interrupted or at risk of overload when switching automatically from mains to emergency power prior to a planned outage, and then reversing the process once the mains power has been fully restored.

In some cases, a business owner might install an uninterruptible power supply instead. The UPS may be used as a means to ensure a source of A/C power can be maintained until whichever of the various generators for sale has been installed can be started manually and brought online. In financial centres and other business that rely heavily on computers and maintaining data integrity, the UPS is used mainly to provide a battery backup that will allow sufficient time for staff to close down their PCs and servers safely.

Today, of course, how we produce electricity has become just as important as ensuring we can produce enough of it to satisfy the needs of all South Africans. While it is unlikely you will find any wind-driven generators for sale, Eskom has already commissioned its first wind farm in the Western Cape. Fully-operational since January, 2015, it is currently contributing 100 Megawatts.

Within the residential sector in particular and, to a lesser extent, in the commercial sector, the need for more sustainable power solutions is being met increasingly by solar energy. Although these rooftop arrays of photovoltaic cells have no moving parts and do not rely on burning fossil fuels to produce an electric current, like any of the more conventional generators for sale in South Africa, they offer an important defence against the consequences of power outages and, in some cases, it is even possible for owners to sell their excess solar power to their service provider or to qualify for rebates or special tariffs. For these and for all power generation needs, PACB Group has a solution.