wiredinUSA August 2011

INDEX

Power unit awaiting transmission lines

Reuters reports that the Japanese utility company, Shikoku Electric Power Co, has delayed the maintenance shutdown of its 350-megawatt No 2 unit at the Sakaide fossil fuel plant to Fall or later as an emergency measure to help ensure stable summer power supplies in Japan. This is a direct result of the damage caused to Japan’s power supply by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. The inspection of the No 2 unit, which runs on oil and coke-oven gas, was originally scheduled for this summer. Shikoku Electric also said it would receive 100 MW of power from in-house power generators. As a result of these two steps, the company raised its summer power supply outlook by 440 MW to 6,210 MW, which is 8.9 per cent above expected peak demand of 5,700 MW. Utilities generally aim to have 8 to 10 per cent of surplus power to ensure steady power supplies. Plant shutdown to boost Japan’s supply

Kenya seeks transmission lines

Leader Universal stays optimistic

Power Grid Corp is racing to build transmission lines for Tata Power’s ultra mega power plant in Mundra, whose first unit is ready to start generation ahead of the planned start-up date in the middle of September. Power Grid normally builds transmission lines on schedule and often has to wait for the power plant to begin generating. Work on transmission lines was earlier delayed while the company waited for forest clearances, but now it has secured all approvals to build the lines, officials said. Tata Power’s 4,000MW power project at Mundra is amongst the first of several that have been planned as part of India’s large power capacity addition program. The first unit ready to begin its test runs will generate 830MW at once, fired by coal imported from Indonesia.

Leader Universal Holdings Bhd expects its cable and wire business to fare better this year, given the number of infrastructure jobs being created locally and abroad. The company’s group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Sean H’ng Chun Hsiang said that besides the government’s Economic Transformation Program and the 10th Malaysia Plan, more enquiries were also coming in from abroad. “Apart from Asian countries and Australia, where we expect demand from, there have also been queries for reconstruction projects in New Zealand and Japan following the disasters these two countries experienced,” he told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Penang recently. H’ng said Leader Universal’s order book for its cable and wire division currently is RM800 million with one-third coming from the export market. “We also are seeing strong demand from the Middle East,” he added. For the 2010 financial year ending 31st December, the company stated revenue of RM2.49 billion, an increase of 27.6 per cent compared to RM1.95 billion for 2009. Profit before tax was lower at RM66.99 million, dropping by 12.88 per cent compared to RM76.85 million achieved in 2009.

Kenya Power Ltd, the East African nation’s sole power distributor, is looking for companies to build 224km (139 miles) of 132-kilovolt lines. Interested companies had until 8th August to express interest in the construction of the single transmission line from the existing Kindaruma power station to the new proposed Mwingi facility, and onward to the proposed Garissa substation. The project, which is expected to be complete in 24 months, will be funded by a loan Kenya received from the World Bank’s International Development Association. In March, Kenya Power said it would spend 1.4 billion shillings ($15.6 million) to improve voltage quality in Nairobi and the surrounding areas.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

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wiredInUSA - August

wiredInUSA - August

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