Electricity + Control September 2015

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I recently had the privilege of travelling to Lusaka
to attend the 2nd African Centres for Lightning and
Electromagnetics (ACLE) International Symposium:
‘Strategic Interventions to Mitigate the Hazard of
Lightning’.
The conference was organised by the ACLE-Zambia,
which was also launched at the Symposium. I am
one of the Research Advisors to the ACLE, but have
never had the opportunity, previously, of being able
to attend one of their events.
The Symposium was run under the auspices of the
Science and Technology desk of the Non-aligned
Movement (NAM), represented at the Symposium
by their Director.
The ACLE is a pan-African Network of Centres
dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries and property
damage from lightning. While we hear terrible sto-
ries about death and injury caused by lightning here
in South Africa, many other parts of the continent
have a far more serious problem on their hands.
The symposium covered many topics, and I was
impressed by the acknowledgement that some of
the processes and procedures that apply to good
lightning safety practice simply cannot be applied
with impunity in the African context.
For instance, within many parts of Africa deaths of
people sheltering within structures is not uncom-
mon. In South Africa we would advise people to get
into a building in a lightning storm. The reasons
are clear. Generally the structure is earthed and
provides a form of lightning protection.
Structures made of non-conductive materials with
no electricity supply, on the other hand, probably
offer no better protection than if people remained
outdoors.
Evidence seems to suggest that clustering in such
informal structures may put them at even greater
risk, resulting in multiple injuries and deaths.
An even more profound problem, of which we have
some experience, is figuring out how to deal with
the mythology around lightning – and how that has
an impact on the way people behave in lightning
storms. This has evolved as an important research
area, with nuances of each region playing a role.
As I had never been to Zambia I found the whole
experience most fulfilling. The first surprise, as
it were, was to observe that the flying time from
Johannesburg to Lusaka was less than the time to
Cape Town. This emphasises the huge opportunity
for collaboration and the possibility to begin con-
versations around common themes – one of which,
of course, is energy. Energy, like water, is generally
somewhat scarce on the continent – although the
potential is spectacular.
It remains impossible, however, to travel north of
South Africa without becoming profoundly aware
of the potential… sensing that you are looking at
economies poised for growth. It is well known that
some of the fastest growing economies are on this
continent, and I am firmly of the view that Africa –
specifically because of its riches – will become the
next genuinely sustainable good news story.
I wonder who will be smart enough to become a
part of that process?
Ian Jandrell
Pr Eng,
BSc (Eng) GDE PhD,
FSAIEE SMIEEE
COMMENT
1 September ‘15 Electricity+Control