24 Jan 2012
South Africa’s main electric utility is Eskom. It is a vertically integrated generation, transmission and distribution organization. Eskom is responsible for 95% of the country’s generation and transmission of electricity.
According to the current Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, South Africa is one of the least energy efficient nations in the world. To start to address this, the government has launched a nationwide power-saving campaign, called 49M. The campaign appeals to all 49 million South Africans to conserve electricity. Eskom says the campaign aims to conserve power, save consumers money and reduce the country’s carbon footprint.
South Africa has a low electricity reserve margin of...
18 Nov 2011
Argentina deregulated its electric industry in 1991. This enabled private companies to supply electricity services, previously run by federal and provincial utilities. The generation and distribution sectors operate in a largely free market. Private utilities own 75% of these sectors. The transmission sector remains regulated and is less...
ABMI power report estimates that by the end of 2020 Argentina’s usage will increase from 107.9TWh in 2010 to 134.8TWh. This is based on a 2.3% average annual growth. The surplus supply will increase from 6.1TWh in 2010 to 8.5TWh, by 2020. This includes power industry consumption and system losses. In 2000, 98% of urban households had access to electricity and 70% of rural households.
The country froze its electricity tariffs in 2002, in response to the 2001 economic crisis. This reduced...
15 May 2012
Japan sounds alarm bells at electricity shortages… Smarter innovations stand to overshadow AMI … South Korean lawmakers unite for carbon trading vote … China courts EU green energy leaders
Prensa Latina: Japan admits to seriousness of energy crisis
Prensa Latina reports that Japan’s Minister of Industry, Yukio Edano, acknowledged his country may face an unprecedented energy crisis. The minister’s admission comes after Japan retired the last of its 54 nuclear plants on May 5, 2012, thereby losing about 30% of its electricity generation.
Edano said there...
15 May 2012
Within seven months of the start New Zealand’s ‘What’s My Number?’ campaign, 28% more customers switched utilities in search of better electricity rates.
What happened
Metering.com reported that New Zealand’s ‘What’s My Number?’ campaign produced a 28% increase in customer switching in seven months and saved consumers a near US$6.9m.
Campaign developers, the Electricity Authority, continue to influence the way NZ power consumers and their power providers interact. Stephen Bell at Computerworld.co.nz tells that the authority also approved legislation that now allows consumers access to their smart meter data....
06 Mar 2012
Tidal and wave power development offers huge opportunities … While Prepay meters are surprisingly popular … Gates and Chu talk power … And Envia to halve battery costs!
Engerati: Turning The Tide on Renewable Energy
Jenni McCann of Engerati looks at two wave and tidal power reports by the Department of Energy (DoE.) These reports conclude that there are “major opportunities for new water power development in the US.”
With a reputation for being expensive to build, these technologies have progressed slowly, but by utilizing marine and wind energy data, these costs are recoverable and this production costs are still lower than that of other...
18 Nov 2011
Brazil has the largest electricity market in Latin America. 97% of its households have access to grid electricity. Energy consumption is expected to rise sharply. This is due to a projected GDP growth between 2010 and 2013, which will exceed the US, Canada. The International Energy Association projects that the rate of energy consumption for...
The country’s higher rate of consumption has resulted in power outages. There will be a further increase in consumption of 5.3% per year, between 2009 and 2019. The growing demand needs a total investment of US$128bn. Some analysts blame the pressured infrastructure onan “unwieldy bureaucracy and political system.” Richard Dubois, infrastructure partner at PwC in São Paulo, says that “there is a chronic lack of planning”.
The National Interconnected...
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