The 15^th African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and expo was a huge success with a record attendance of 6000 people over three days in Cape Town earlier this month.

From 12-14 May, the event gathered power and water professionals from utilities, governments, large power users, IPPs, consultants, contractors and regulators in the various spheres of the industry from generation, finance and investment, metering, smart grids, water and renewable energy such as solar and wind.

The expo featured 250 local and global technology and service providers, 64 free technical workshops and this year boasted several large international pavilions including from Germany, Norway, Italy, India, South Korea and the USA. Some 200 speakers addressed eight conference tracks.

“This year we raised the bar in every aspect of African Utility Week” says event director Evan Schiff, “from adding an extra day, producing an exciting and relevant programme with thoughtful speakers, to building our largest expo to date of more than 10 000 square meters and adding to this the various strategic local and international partnerships that enabled us to tell the world about the incredible opportunities available in the African power and water industry.”

Conference highlights include:

Day 1, Keynote session: Africa is open for business, investing in the hottest frontier
– Victor Kgomoeswana, Author, News Anchor and Business Advisor, South Africa
– Zethembe Khoza, Eskom Board Member
– Andrew Herscowitz, Coordinator for Power Africa & Trade Africa at U.S. Government, USA

Day 2, Keynote session: Delivering energy solutions for African economies
– David Walker, CEO, DNV-GL, Netherlands
– Hugo Lamin, Public Services Regulation Specialist, Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency, Brazil

Day 3, Closing keynote: The evolution of the utility: From Edison to grid modernisation to smart cities
– Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Ethiopia

“With our dedicated finance and investment forum we also proved that the continent’s power and water sector has some really exciting projects to invest in” says Evan Schiff.

He adds: “the rural electrification session was a hit! It was hugely topical and relevant and the conference room was packed. Our nuclear panel discussion always provides for great debate.

Furthermore, the panel discussion on the International Renewable Energy Agency’s  (IRENA) vision for Africa’s Clean Energy Corridor, formed the perfect platform to get all stakeholders in a room that could make this vision a reality.”

The 2016 edition of the event will take place from 17-19 May – check out the website for the developments of the next African Utility Week.