EM - October/November 2014 - (Page 9)

9 Oct/Nov 2014 www.esb.ie/em Innovation ESB Innovation sponsors sixth Digital Ireland Forum ESB International holds ﬁrst Engineer Awareness Days P11 World Bank contract won in Myanmar ESB INTERNATIONAL ON 12TH SEPTEMBER, ESB Innovation was a sponsor of the sixth Digital Ireland Forum which was held in the Convention Centre in Dublin. Leaders in the technology and digital business sphere, as well as policy-makers and stakeholders in Ireland's digital economy, gathered to discuss the issues and challenges facing the industry. ESB's Head of Innovation, John McSweeney, was part of a panel discussion focused on 21st Century Digital Infrastructure, Environment and Edu- Above: pictured at the Digital Ireland Forum are Ann O'Dea, Silicon Republic CEO; Ciara Judge from the Digital Youth Forum Council; John McSweeney, Head of Innovation, ESB; Carolan Lennon from Eircom Wholesale and Peter Evans from BT Ireland. cation. John discussed the benefits to the economy of the new high-speed Fibre-to-the-Building network soon to be deployed by ESB and Vodafone (subject to EU merger control approval) to 50 towns across the country. He also highlighted how this would propel Ireland into the ranks of the world's fastest broadband countries. Other speakers included Alex White ESB International has won a new contract with the International Finance Corporation (IFC, a member of the World Bank Group), to act as their Technical Advisor for the proposed corporatisation of Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB), the main electricity distribution company in the Yangon Region of Myanmar. The IFC intends to invest in YESB with the objective of transforming the company into a commercially independent corporate entity. Working on behalf of IFC, ESB International will help YESB develop a roadmap for its future development and advise on much needed investment in the network. Specifically ESB International's role will be to work with IFC and YESB to assess the company, its operations and assets and to identify and recommend appropriate short and long term actions to be taken, in order to help it deliver reliable electricity and meet sharply rising electricity demands. In January, the World Bank announced a US$2 billion funding program for Myanmar, of which US$1 billion will be spent on expanding electricity generation, transmission and distribution. Currently over 70% of the 60 million population of Myanmar do not have access to electricity. Expanding access to electricity in a country like Myanmar can help transform a society and bring an end to poverty. As part of this programme, IFC announced its intention to improve the power supply in the country's former capital and most populated city of Yangon by investing in YESB and transforming it into a modern and efficient distribution company. This is ESB International's first contract in Myanmar. Given the huge investment required in the power sector, and the flow of donor funds into the country, there are significant opportunities for ESB International in Myanmar. n TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Ciara Judge, a very impressive Cork student from the Digital Youth Council (and a former BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition winner) who spoke on the importance of implementing diverse digital technology in schools and teaching methodologies throughout Ireland. n ESB International signs contract with TANESCO Pictured: Noel Tobin, ESB International; Tonci Bakovic, Chief Energy Specialist, IFC; Julio Lemaitre, Chief Power Engineer, IFC; Aung Khaing, Chairman, YESB; Brian Montayne and Jim Owens, ESB International. Belfast to Brussels - 100% electric ESB INTERNATIONAL ESB INTERNATIONAL HAS recently signed a World Bank funded contract worth approximately €750,000 to assist Tanzanian power utility TANESCO develop a national Customer Call Centre. The new contract follows on from a separate, USAID-funded Millennium Challenge transmission and distribution contract that ESB International has executed since 2008. Tanzania has an overall electrification rate of only around 15%, made up largely of 'islands' of electrification such as Dar es Salaam and the Kilimanjaro area. However, TANESCO aims to connect 250,000 consumers annually for the foreseeable future, so the national Call Centre will service a growing customer base for years to come. Call Centres facilitate efficient handling and resolution of high volumes of TANESCO staff Mrs Fatuma Chungu, Mr. Evaristo Winyasi and Mr. Walter Jacob, shown together with (l-r) Ray O' Mullane, Carol Herley, Ber O' Connell, Carmel Geaney, Marina Hunt (all from ESB Networks Customer Contact Centre) and John Traynor (ESB International). a range of customer queries. ESB has developed its own Customer Contact Centres - one for ESB Networks and one for Electric Ireland. The underlying platform requires state-of-the-art IT and telecom equipment and software (plus telco connectivity). It is no surprise therefore that in delivering consultancy assistance for such a strategic facility, ESB International relies on support from our expert colleagues in ESB Networks' Telecom Services (Joe O'Neill and John Wallace). ESB International recently hosted a visit from three key TANESCO staff involved in the new Call Centre Project, and was very kindly supported by key staff at the Customer Contact Centres for ESB Networks and Electric Ireland; at the Telecoms Operation Centre, NDCC and SDCC, and at Telecity. ESB International warmly thanks all our ESB colleagues for their great support. n Pictured at the ESB electric car in Brussels are Dr. Heike Barlag, Green eMotion Project Co-ordinator; Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission and Hans ten Berge, EURELECTRIC Secretary General. Two members of the ecars team - Mark Daly and Conor O'Brien - recently undertook a journey from Belfast to Brussels in a Nissan LEAF electric vehicle. Their journey brought them through Dublin, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull and Bruges in Belgium. They made the journey as part of the Green eMotion Rally to Brussels which culminated in an electromobility demonstration event which was attended by Vice President of the European Commission, Siim Kallas. The journey took two days and involved five charges en-route. http://www.esb.ie/em

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EM - October/November 2014

EM - October/November 2014
News
Innovation
Generation & Wholesale Markets
BSC & Electric Ireland
ESB Networks Ltd
Health & Habitat

EM - October/November 2014