By Ben Selier, vice president, Secure Power for Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric.
The story of power generation is more than meets the eye. Beyond energy distribution and the infrastructure that enable it are the IT systems that play a fundamental role in keeping systems running. However, it is also these invisible, point of presence (PoP) data centres located the remotest parts of our country that often go unseen.
The reality is that in order for utilities to deliver safe, reliable and sustainable electricity to even the smallest of South African towns, the remote sites must be maintained and secured. You cannot separate the infrastructure that manages input from the systems that enable output.
Data centres today serve the digital infrastructure of utilities; whether it is ensuring billing accuracy or controlling grid distribution, these facilities provide essential IT services that enable the services to function properly.
Like physical operational infrastructure, IT failure can also lead to service interruption, safety risks and increased operational costs; and unfortunately, particularly at remote sites, the maintenance of IT systems isn’t always prioritised. It becomes a bit contradictory when a transformer can still deliver electricity but the utility’s billing or monitoring system is offline due to battery failure or overheating.
Ben Selier, vice president, Secure Power for Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric.
Acid leaks, non-functional air conditioning and unstable UPS systems can be catastrophic. If left unchecked, these remote sites can experience complete system outages which are not only costly, but are time consuming to repair due to the isolated location of some of these sites.
There are solutions, today
What can be done to provide some relief to our country’s already overburdened utilities? Data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) overcomes a lot of the abovementioned challenges.
DCIM offerings which today incorporate building management systems (BMS) and facility management platforms offer importantly functionality such as early warnings through the use environmental sensors, helping utilities act before minor issues escalate.
Vibration sensors can also detect irregularities in a generator long before it fails, and temperature spikes in battery rooms can prompt immediate cooling interventions, avoiding the need for expensive replacements.
Importantly, DCIM overcomes the need to travel hundreds of kilometres to physically inspect every POP data centre, which is extremely challenging given the size and spread of South Africa’s grid infrastructure. DCIM’s centralised monitoring systems allow utilities to keep tabs on all their sites from a single control room, often located hundreds of kilometres away.
Schneider Electric’s DCIM offering is an integrated solution tailored to the needs of remote utility sites. It includes features like:
• Environmental and equipment monitoring of temperature, humidity, power load, UPS health and more.
• Access control and surveillance, with cameras installed both on site and inside racks for physical security.
• Vibration sensors for monitoring generators and other critical machinery.
• Centralised control and visibility that enable real-time insight from a single command centre.
• Proactive alerts that allow for early intervention before equipment fails.
The immediate benefits are reduced downtime, lower maintenance costs, improved safety and longer equipment life cycles, which can avoid large-scale repairs or replacement – all contributing to reduced capital expenditure.
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