By Caroline Njoroge
An opening session with six East African regional energy ministries represented, an inspiring “Women in African Power” lunch, a unique gathering of Future Leaders in Energy and a free exhibition with technical workshops are just some of the highlights of the 18th edition of the East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC) at the KICC in Nairobi next week.
The long-running, regional conference and exhibition will gather some 2000 power professionals, investors and project developers from more than 30 countries, present more than a 100 top industry expert speakers, offer 24 free technical workshops and feature 68 local and global technology and service providers to the industry.
The EAPIC ministerial opening session at 09h00, Wednesday, 21 September, will be addressed by high-levelrepresentatives, including three ministers, from six regional energy ministries: Kenya, Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and will be broadcast by CNBC Africa Television.
The high-level energy ministry representatives are:
– Dr Joseph Njoroge, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Kenya
– Dr. Dheu Mathouk Diing, Minister, Ministry of Energy and Dams, South Sudan
– Hon Eng, Simon D’Ujanga, State Minister, Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development, Uganda
– Dr Eng Juliana Pallangyo, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Tanzania
– H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Siraj, State Minister, Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity, Sudan
– Liban Mohamed H. Mohamoud, Director, Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Somaliland
– Session chair: Dr Albert Butare, Rwanda’s former Minister of State for Energy, Water and Communication
More EAPIC conference highlights:
Regional investment opportunities: Country Spotlight sessions where high-level government representatives from Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somaliland, Sudan and South Sudan will address the conference on the respective institutional or regulatory reforms for improving the business environment as well as incentives for prospective investors.
-Strong focus on geothermal: “There is no one size fits all approach to developing geothermal. It’s an amazing source of base load, renewable energy, but we have to take a realistic approach to how it’s developed” – says Amanda Lonsdale, Institutional and Commercial Development Advisor for the East Africa Geothermal Energy Facility (EAGER) and moderator of the geothermal development conference track.
Women in African Power Lunch
Power Africa’s Women in African Power Network and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are hosting a luncheon highlighting the role of women in Africa’s energy sector at this year’s EAPIC on Wednesday, 21 September. The event aims to shine a light on both the role that women currently play in Africa’s energy sector, and the tremendous potential they hold to shape a vibrant and growing sector.
Featured guest speakers include:
– Geraldine Joslyn Fraser-Moleketi, Special Envoy on Gender at the African Development Bank
– June Muli, Deputy General Manager at M-KOPA, Tanzania
– Charity Wanjiku, CEO, Strauss Energy
Future Energy Leaders
On Thursday, 22 September, EAPIC is hosting a Future Energy Leaders’ Lunch where tomorrow’s brightest young energy professionals and top performing students who are planning a future career in the power and energy infrastructure sectors will have the opportunity to hear from inspiring speakers, meet some of the key movers and shakers in the industry and be introduced to potential future employers, and where possible connected with internships and job opportunities.
Guest speakers:
– Hindpal Jabbal, former Chairman Energy Regulatory Commission, Kenya
– Eddy Njoroge, Non-Executive Director, Globeleq, Kenya
Free expo and technical workshops
Power professionals, large power users and any businesses that could benefit from energy efficiency and productivity training are invited to come along to the EAPIC exhibition for the free technical workshops and to try the latest technologies.
Free workshop topics include:
– Experiences from the Kenya Tea biomass gasification based power station
– Decentralised electrification in the form of stand-alone solar solutions
– An investor’s perspective – trends, technological advancements and the future of global renewable energy technologies
– Efficient power distribution in town planning and development
– Delivering affordable hydroelectricity to rural Africa
– Challenges and solutions to project and smart meter project roll out
– Advanced test diagnostics systems
Spotlight on regional achievements
Kenya Power, Eskom Uganda, the Nile Basin Initiative, Songas and Ethiopian Electric Power are just some of the region’s leading lights in the power industry that are finalists in this year’s East African Power Industry Awardsthat will take place during EAPIC on the evening of 21 September at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi. Well known media personality and CNBC Africa television news anchor Bonney Tunya will be the MC during the awards gala dinner.
Site visits
Once again EAPIC is offering delegates exclusive and in-depth site visits to some of the leading energy projects in Nairobi bringing a third dimension to the conference and exhibition. A full day visit to the Olkaria Geothermal Field will provide the experience to view the Olkaria 1 unit IV & V power plant at East Field and the installations generating 140MW commissioned in February 2015. The other option is a visit to the United Nations Environment Programme andUN-Habitat offices as well as to Strathmore University to see the 600kW grid tied solar system which is the first IPP to sign a solar PPA in Kenya.
Source: The Exchange
