Eskom will die a slow death - Dawie Roodt

[Voicy]

I have some experience of minor (10 to 20MW or so) feeding into a grid (I listened at the meeting, did not contribute much) and to commission you need some skilled and experienced people (not so easy in SA) plus a lot of testing, otherwise there is tripping of 11kV switchgear which is a bit scary; bigger voltages must be the stuff of nightmares. But the recipient of the power usually provides grid codes (Eskom stuff you around with these) and modern generation equipment has automatic synchronising breakers, load sensing and power factor systems that safeguard "the grid" and feeding into it; as does the switchgear, both at generation and at the step down side. All of this needs to be correctly specified, procured, commissioned, operated, audited and serviced otherwise problems beckon. Biggest issues we had; specification and people.

You're 100% right on the money here.

Earlier this year I commissioned 6MW of generators running synchronized/parallel loadsharing @ 11kV. I had to wire up everything including the 11kV switchgear myself and do all of the testing. It's not exactly a low stress environment to say the least, but was dope to see perfect load balancing at 1.0pF despite swing-loads.

But yeah, that's why I'm a proponent of Eskom being removed from Generation and distribution, but still maintaining responsibility for transmission and grid-tying supplies.

 

[Quicks]

Eskom will die a slow death, but will take SA with it.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

Eskom reminds me of a few graves, however with that gone I see loads of graves coming, one in each yard.