The South African .economy was hit hard by the electricity crisis of 2008 where increasing demand for electricity outstripped the available supply that led to load shedding. Many jobs were lost, industries could not keep up with international competition and as a result jobs were lost in the process affecting many households in the country. This is the context within the debate around the introduction of private sector participation in the electricity industry to assist Eskom to meet the demand and stimulate economic growth. This dissertation examines the introduction of the Independent Power Producers and its impact on the industry. It has been found that to level the playing field in the industry, the horizontal structure of the electricity industry will have to disaggregate. International experience has shown that this structure is perfect for meeting the increasing electricity demand and for economic growth. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012

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The object of this dissertation is to identify effective techniques for powerline communication using the low voltage (240V) domestic mains electricity supply in the sub 150 kHz frequency range as defined by the European CENELEC standard, concentrating on narrowband techniques suitable for low data rate telemetry applications. In order to conduct a comparison of communications techniques a model of the channel is invaluable. However a survey of the existing literature reveals that the presently available Knowledge of the channel characteristics and impairments of the low voltage mains is limited. In particular there is no widely accepted quantitative model of the mains as a narrowband communications link. The study consisted of four main phases. First, a new piece of equipment, the 'Channel Probe', was developed to perform channel soundings of the mains. The second phase was largely experimental; empirical channel sounding results were collected using the Channel Probe. In the third phase a model was defined to fit the empirical results and a quantitative simulation was constructed based on this model. Lastly, communications techniques were studied using this simulation. This document presents the key impairments introduced by the channel, and proposes a novel narrowband channel model. Quantitative values for these phenomena are identified and justified against the measured results. The simulation that was constructed in accordance with this channel model is entirely novel, and is used to study suitable modulation schemes, receiver structures and algorithms. Original performance results from this simulation are presented, and a novel low complexity narrowband communication scheme is presented which has significant advantages over existing commercially available systems.

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The nature of gas and electricity and the methods of distribution, billing and payment all contribute to the 'invisibility' of much domestic energy consumption in industrial and post-industrial societies. For the householder, understanding how to invest and behave in ways that will give affordable comfort with minimum environmental impact involves making sense of a hidden set of processes. This poses a major challenge, one that a range of energy advice programmes is attempting to meet. The main focus to date has been on the actions taken as a result of advice, with little attention paid to teaching and learning processes or to context. This thesis explores formal and informal processes by which householders learn about their energy use in order to develop a theoretical framework. Constructivist learning theory guides the investigation and a variant of the 'conscious competence' model of learning is used as a starting point. The concept of'tacit knowledge' (foundational knowledge, usually acquired informally) is used in tracing the development of energy literacy. Empirical data come from householder surveys and from interviews of householders and advisers in five contrasting locations in the UK. Interpretation of this material demonstrates the construction of meaning through experience and interaction with others, and the potential role of the energy adviser as a trusted and knowledgeable person. The building of tacit knowledge is crucial to the development of energy literacy and the householder's ability to absorb and evaluate new information. Energy advisers need to be able to identify and develop existing knowledge, and to form effective networks with social welfare programmes. The need to build awareness by following up advice wherever possible is stressed. There also needs to be a supportive learning infrastructure that includes easily accessible feedback on consumption, and the availability of accurate information for those who are knowledgeable and confident enough to teach themselves.

Electricity supply industries (ESI) around the world are subject to structural and regulatory change. The environmental implications of these changes will depend, largely, on future investment within cleaner technologies. As developing countries (Des) increase levels of electricity supply, the incentives for investment in clean technologies is particularly important. Policy-makers wishing to promote renewable electricity technologies (RETs) in Des need to understand the nature of technological change in large technical systems (LTS). Broadly this thesis adopts the view that technological change is the outcome of the complex interaction of technical, economic and political factors. Initially technological change in LTS is shaped by social and political factors. As the system increases in both size and complexity driven by economies of scale and scope, and through co-evolution of technical and institutional features, it exhibits 'momentum,' whereupon technological change tends to be 'incremental' and autonomous. Through problem-solving activities to address 'reverse salients' the system evolves on a 'technological trajectory,' its path confined by technological and economic boundaries defined by the prevailing 'techno-economic' paradigm. Subsequently new technologies such as RETs, with characteristics different to those of the 'Traditional Electricity System Trajectory' (TEST) are unlikely to be favoured. Restructuring the electricity system provides a discontinuity in its momentum, allowing the drivers and interactions of different stakeholders to be more transparent. During such periods of instability there are important opportunities for systemic change through meaningful policy input. The socio-economic importance of electricity supply in Des further increases the 'technoinstitutional complexity' within the electricity system, and so resistance to restructuring. The thesis argues that restructuring of the ESI is a necessary, but not sufficient requirement for commercialisation of RETs. Rather policies supported by legislation should ensure that conservative techno-institutional mechanisms are replaced by ones that encourage a 'Balanced Electricity System Trajectory.' The BEST framework incorporates 'economies of the system' as a driver and is characterised by distributed technologies including small-scale and modular generation and sophisticated control technologies. As well as being characterised by flexible control in the technical sense, the BEST model is also characterised by flexible institutional arrangements.