| Summary: | Thesis (MTech(Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. === Global economic meltdown appears to be a new phenomenon in this 21 st century because
worldwide poor financial situation seemed forgotten after the Great Depression of the 1930s.
However, energy crisis has been a common worldwide issue and challenge since the October
1973 war in the Middle East which triggered the first of two waves of energy-price increases
in the 1970s. That event catapulted the debate about energy and conservation, from its
obscure beginnings, in academic and policy circles to sudden public prominence. The recent
co-incidence of South Africa's energy crisis with the global financial crisis was a double
tragedy. The main reason for the 2007 to 2008 energy crisis in South Africa was the
imbalance between electricity supply and demand
Globally about 40% of industrial electricity is consumed by Electric Motor-Driven Systems
(EMDS) and South African estimates are around 60%. Pumping systems are crucial industrial
EMDS and their energy demand ranges from 25% to 50% of the energy usage in certain
industrial plant operations. In South Africa, an estimated 15% of generated electrical power is
consumed by pumping systems.
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