Blackouts in Gold Mines
Friday, January 25th, 2008
As if proof were needed that the world is on the brink of an energy crisis, look no further than South Africa! The country is rich in gems and precious metals and some of the world’s largest gold and platinum mining companies. This week they suspended production due to a ‘national emergency’ and spate of recent power cuts, which have ground business to a halt in many areas.
Two things come to mind: firstly, thank goodness this is 2008 and not a bygone era! Mining company owners and bosses back then would have cared less about health & safety and minors being trapped underground by a power cut than they obviously do now! Drastic though it may seem, they took the right course of action shutting everything down. Secondly, if these companies are some of the world’s largest (and one would assume, richest) in their field, why do they not join forces and lobby the Government for more action on energy issues; including infrastructure construction and maintenance? Surely, above all these days, this is the one element that is an obstacle to a country’s economic growth.
I love this quote from Goolam Ballim, chief economist of Standard Bank Group, based in South Africa:
“Power is like Oxygen, it’s essential for any half-modern economy.”
Absolutely! And protecting its source should be foremost in every business owner’s mind.
For more information on power protection, visit: Riello UPS
It’s interesting that people assume the electricity that comes out of the mains power supply is as pure as distilled water. It isn’t. It is contaminated by all sorts of ‘nasties’ that can lead to sags, surges, brownouts, harmonics, flicker, frequency deviations, interference, interruptions, distortion as well as complete blackouts. In turn, these problems can have dire consequences. Firstly, they will shorten the life of equipment by causing wear-and-tear and they can also cause complete breakdown.
Increasingly more of the UK’s electricity is being generated from natural gas. Okay, so it would seem we can all breath again now that agreement for gas supplies to Ukraine in 2008 has been signed. Most of Russia’s gas exports to the European Union (EU) are piped through Ukraine so it is important that there is agreement between the two nations. Russian gas currently accounts for one quarter of the EU’s supplies but that could rise in view of the fact that the UK, for example, is expecting to import gas to meet up to 80% of demand by 2020. The agreement on both price and terms of gas supplies to Ukraine will ensure a more stable supply of Russian gas to European consumers. The
We are not the only country suffering severe problems. Earlier this week
The consequences of a mains power failure can at times be quite staggering. I am convinced that such incidents follow
The simple act of turning off a power cable over a river to allow a cruise ship to pass caused an unprecedented power cut across Europe on Saturday. The power cut started in Cologne and quickly spread to Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Croatia and even Morocco. The incident has led to a call for a full investigation by the European Commission and demands for a central European power authority. For more information
A faulty underground cable has been blamed for the recent power cuts that hit
Where is the resilience ? Jason Yates and I have been discussing resilience recently and how far this should be pushed through out an installation. A recent PDU failure caused by a burnt out cable at London internet hub provider Telehouse, shows just how important resilience can be. A resilient electrical power design ensures that the critical load remains powered at all times and cannot be brought down by a single point of failure as it appears happened here. As
Last week, power cuts in Maidstone disrupted a datacentre operated by CSC Alliance. This lead to a computer system failure affecting over 80 NHS hospital trusts. Such incidents highlight the need for power protection as reported by
The recent heat wave has highlighted just how little spare electrical capacity we have within the UK. Sudden failures in London, for example, left electricity companies asking users to reduce their power demands and turn off air conditioners. With another heat wave forecast for later this month we can only expect further power problems and failures. For more information on the London power cuts see the 
