FACE-TO-FACE
Robyn Grimsley (RG): You are the director:
Power Solutions for Africa. What does that
entail and what are your specific areas?
Kenny Gaynor (KG): Cummins is a matrix-type
organisation, which means that we operate in
regions and segments. I deal with the southern
Africa region, but within that region, there are
specific segments. In Africa, there are two main
types of applications for generators: there’s what
we call ‘prime’ applications, where you run the
generator 24/7, and then there’s backup power.
Angola and Nigeria are two examples of the prime
market segment; there isn’t enough power available
in those two countries, so they use generators all
the time.
South Africa and Ghana, on the other hand, are
good examples of countries that use generators
for backup power. Many people seem to think that
because we haven’t had loadshedding in South
Africa for a while, the risk of power outages has
gone away. But it hasn’t — that risk is always there,
whether it’s due to maintenance, cable theft, or
some other reason. So my focus is very much on
the backup power market, particularly critical loads,
such as hospitals, data centres, financial institutions,
and so on.
RG: Outside of these critical load areas, what
would you say are the largest sectors in terms of
use of backup power within southern Africa?
Kenny Gaynor, director: Power Solutions for Cummins Africa.
You’ve got the
power
Power generation is a hot topic in Africa, particularly when it comes
to remote mine sites and critical operations. Robyn Grimsley spoke
to Kenny Gaynor, director: Power Solutions for Cummins Africa, at
the Power & Electricity World Africa (PEWA) Exhibition about the
challenges facing companies on the continent, and the future of
power generation in Africa.
28
JULY 2017
KG: Well, two other important areas I would
identify are industry and transport, particularly
ports and harbours. If Cape Town airport, for
example, experiences a power outage, it doesn’t
just affect that airport, it impacts every other
airport in the world that has flights coming into
or going out of Cape Town — it has a knock-
on effect. With industry, certain manufacturing
processes are heavily impacted by power problems.
If you experience a power outage, your product
could solidify inside pipes or machines, and it is a
much bigger deal than just waiting for the power
to come back on. Once it does, you then need to
spend time cleaning out the system before you can
restart your process, and this could translate to
days of downtime.
Mining is another sector that is heavily affected
by power problems. In addition to the losses
suffered if a mine has to shut down for any length
of time, there is the issue of safety. Power is a
significant contributor to safety on mine sites, and
on other jobsites. Without power, all of the safety
systems are down — ventilation underground, lift
shafts underground, lighting, clinics situated on
the mine — so it’s a really big issue. Many mines in
Africa are also remote, and the power grid either
doesn’t reach the mine or it’s just so unreliable that
backup power is a necessity, and that’s a big part of
our business.