This year’s African Utility Week (AUW) will welcome the generation sector through the co-location of electricity industry forum POWERGEN Africa for complete discussions ranging from power sector planning to smart city delivery.

“With the concentration of senior decision-makers representing more than 90 countries globally, this unique gathering enables organisations to engage in productive discussions with relevant audiences,” says event management company Spintelligent event director Evan Schiff.

The first truly end-to-end power show on the continent, this year’s Cape Town-hosted AUW will also host a Women in Power lunch – together with POWERGEN Africa and the Canadian High Commission – providing a platform to support women on their business journey, notes Schiff.

“As part of this initiative, our Global Initiate Programme will sponsor 12 woman-owned small, medium-sized and microenterprise businesses with exhibition space, matchmaking and mentoring,” says Schiff.

AUW also features three new halls and the keynote room will be moved to a bigger hall, which will allow for hosting more people during the sessions.

“The inclusion of the additional halls enables us to accommodate the new sectors and companies that wish to do business in Africa. “This follows the yearly increase of about 20% that the event has noted over the past five years,” adds Schiff.

He mentions that the growth reflects the global interest in penetrating the African market and the African public sector’s growing ability to deliver on its mandate of connecting its populations to the grid.

Meanwhile, South African Energy Minster Jeff Radebe will provide the Ministerial address. “The plenary keynote is an opportunity to enable the industry to hear first-hand about the plans for the sector,” says Schiff.

Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions, the event boasts a five-track strategic conference, with more than 300 expert speakers. An extensive knowledge hub programme, which is continuing professional development-accredited, will be offered free of charge. It offers hands-on presentations that will take place in defined spaces on the exhibition floor.

The knowledge hubs will cover topics from asset management and maintenance to case studies covering the latest metering technologies.