In early October the Southern African Energy Efficiency Confederation – SAEEC – hosted its 20th annual conference at a venue just north of Johannesburg. Delivering the opening keynote address at the conference, Deputy Minister of Electricity & Energy, Samantha Graham-Maré, expressed her strong support for the drive to improve energy efficiency, citing it, as highlighted by the IEA, as the first fuel of the energy transition – in terms of reducing use of fossil-fuel generated electricity and refining, managing, optimising, the ongoing demand for electricity as it continues to rise.
Graham-Maré also emphasised the parallel importance of engendering circularity in the fast-growing renewable energy sector, making the point that worldwide, we need to be ready to manage the disposal – recycling, repurposing, reuse – of the equipment and materials used in the first boom of building solar and wind energy plants and battery storage systems – when they reach their end of ‘first’ life. And that circularity needs to be engineered into new products, equipment and apparatus used in renewable energy plants going forward. Without it, she suggested, renewable energy cannot claim to be clean energy. She highlighted too that there is indeed value to be realised in integrating circularity into the industry.
Energy management + energy efficiency is one of the features in focus in this October 2025 issue of Electricity + Control, together with Industry 4.0 + IIoT, Measurement + instrumentation, and Safety of plant, equipment + people.
In Industry 4.0 + IIoT, Prenesh Padayachee of the Johannesburg based company Seacom, highlights the fundamental role of long-distance fibreoptic connections to enable industry 4.0, the escalating use of AI, and more. Seacom was responsible for the laying of the first SEACOM undersea cable – and it has more recently announced SEACOM 2.0, a second undersea cable which is intended to connect countries around the Indian Ocean Basin, including those along Africa’s east coast.
Energy management + energy efficiency spans the full spectrum of the energy sector, from power generation to electricity supply to energy management in day-to-day operations to optimise efficiencies and save costs. In this feature, Danie Moller of Mulilo shares his perspective on the energy transition in South Africa, and the need for the country to balance climate goals with grid realities.
Leigh Darroll spoke to David Claassen at Trafo Power Solutions about the electrical power solutions – from transformers to containerised substations and fully equipped e-houses – that the company supplies to industries across Africa, often on remote sites and operating in harsh conditions.
Richard von Moltke at ACTOM’s Static Power Division, highlights some key considerations to enable smart energy management for energy intensive users.
Dennis Williams of AES sets out some of the intricacies of managing steam systems on multi user sites efficiently, explaining why specialised service providers are valuable.
Measurement + instrumentation forms a key aspect of energy management, and Industry 4.0, supporting plant efficiencies and informing digital systems to keep operations running smoothly. In this feature Comtest, ifm, Minebea Intec, and GEMŬ share their news.
In the feature on Safety of plant, equipment + people, Tristan Blades from Pratley Electrical explains the importance of choosing the correct IP ratings for equipment and accessories in electrical installations.
Khensani Ndobe of CBi-electric: low voltage flags the risks of using non-compliant electrical supplies, often unwittingly, but without verifying the validity of claimed standards certifications, especially when sourcing equipment via online platforms.
More news to support site safety from SafeQuip, ASP Fire, Booyco Electronics, and others.
And there is always more to learn from our regular columns on Cybersecurity, Reskilling, Engineering the future, and Write @ the back.
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