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BPL Global and BPL Africa to Expand Smart Grid
Project Nationwide in Ghana
Jan 7, 2008 - PRNewswire
BPL Global(R), Ltd. (BPLG), a smart grid technology
company dedicated to leading the transformation of
energy efficiency and reliability, announced today
that the company has signed a 5-year modern grid contract
in partnership with BPL Africa, with Ghana's national
utility, Volta River Authority (VRA). The agreement
implements smart grid technologies and broadband over
power line (BPL) communications technology on the
11kV power distribution network of VRA. Ghana is making
a transformational investment in their electrical
and communications infrastructure to accelerate economic
development. Their modern grid investment allows VRA
to significantly increase the productivity of their
existing electrical network by delivering additional
electricity and communications services.
In July 2008, BPLG and BPL Africa deployed a pilot
project for VRA demonstrating a modern grid. VRA declared
the pilot project a great success, exceeding their
goals for return on investment, improved energy efficiency
and service reliability. Consequently, VRA has decided
to deploy the smart grid and BPL solutions across
their power distribution network. Phase 1 of the project
provides services to the following areas: Akosombo
(population 15,000), Sunyani (population 80,000),
and Tamale (population 305,000), the capital of the
Northern region of Ghana.
"In Ghana, demand for electricity has been increasing
at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per annum for the last
two decades. Thus an important consideration is to
match the growth rate of electricity demand with adequate
supply. BPL Global's Power SG(R) solutions have successfully
proven in deployments that important savings can be
achieved with smart grid solutions that improve efficiency
and reliability of energy distribution. We are very
pleased through our partnership with BPLG to be able
to deploy smart grid solutions that will greatly benefit
quality of life and economic expansion in Ghana,"
said Dieudonne Bakarani, President of BPL Africa,
who also stated that BPL Africa is presently finalizing
plans for smart grid deployments in a number of other
sub Saharan countries.
Smart grid solutions to be deployed in Ghana for
VRA include: BPLG's Power SG(R) Network Monitoring
and Management, Rapid Fault Location, Demand Management,
Non-Technical Loss Management, Substation Automation,
Transformer Monitoring and CCTV Security Systems.
Broadband Communications solutions include: broadband
internet access and VoIP telephony.
"In building a modern grid, VRA is establishing themselves
as a leader and innovator in electrical network technology.
BPL Global's integrated demand management solution
alone can proactively manage the load curve to optimize
electricity supply and demand," said Pascal Julienne,
President Executive Director of BPL Global EMEA. "Demand
management and efficiency solutions are one of the
most valuable investments a utility can make. As an
alternative to building new generation, demand management
can be deployed for about 1/3 of the investment."
The smart grid system is designed to reduce frequency
and duration of outages, improve the balance of supply
and demand, and improve operational efficiency. Smart
grid technology is ready to have a significant impact
improving the efficiency and reliability of energy
delivery in Ghana.
"VRA's focus right now is to make sure that we produce
reliable, stable and adequate power," said Owura Kwaku
Sarfo, Chief Executive VRA. "To achieve our goal of
efficient and reliable energy for Ghana, we have chosen
BPL Global's Power SG smart grid solutions as we believe
that building an intelligent and modern grid is our
best investment in the future."
About BPL Global
BPL Global, Ltd. (BPLG) is a smart grid technology
company dedicated to leading the transformation of
energy efficiency and reliability. The company provides
software solutions and services to electric utilities
enabling an intelligent grid to more efficiently manage
demand, integrate distributed energy resources, improve
service reliability, and optimize cost and capital
productivity. BPL Global partners with local utilities,
Internet service providers, equipment suppliers and
financiers to create end-to-end solutions integrating
the best in software, communications, hardware and
managed services to aggressively deploy smart grid
solutions around the world. Part of the clean technology
sector of the electric utility industry, our applications
provide the critical foundation for a coordinated,
intelligent grid to deliver energy more efficiently
and reliably for a greener environment. http://www.bplglobal.net/.
About BPL Africa
BPL Africa has been formed by a team of experienced
industry executives who are committed to delivering
the socio economic benefits across Africa that are
offered by the latest "Smart Grid" utility applications
and BPL communications technology. BPL Africa has
offices in South Africa and Ghana with plans to develop
further operations across the continent. BPL Africa
was founded by Dieudonne Bakarani, who has considerable
experience of building successful technology businesses
in sub Saharan Africa. Mr Bakarani leads a team of
indigenous specialists from the fields of telecommunication,
financial investment and power utility operations.
http://www.bplafrica.com/
About Volta River Authority (VRA)
The Volta River Authority (VRA) was established
in April 26, 1961 under the Volta River Development
Act, Act 46 of the Republic of Ghana. The Authority's
primary function is to generate and supply electrical
energy for industrial, commercial and domestic use
in Ghana. VRA also operate and maintain the medium
voltage distribution network in certain regions of
Ghana. VRA has a transmission system made up of 42
substations and approximately 4,000 circuit kilometers
of transmission lines that cover the entire country.
http://www.vra.com/
BPL Global, Ltd.
CONTACT: Kati Julienne, +33 (0) 2 43 14 12 76, kjulienne@bplglobal.net,Thorne
King, +1 724-933-7704, tking@bplglobal.net, both of
BPL Global, Ltd.
Web Site: http://www.bplafrica.com/http://www.bplglobal.net/http://www.vra.com/
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