You are busy working and the dreadful click-sound of a power failure is followed by deadly silence. Suddenly the noise of cars on the free way is much more real and the fact that your office seems colder and darker brings you to the realization that this is becoming a daily event.

I live in Africa, the DARK continent. We have explored the land, build cities and mined it's riches. I doubt that Africa will ever rise to the first world standards of the U.S.A or have the advanced technology of the Far East developed here. We do have thriving commerce from Cairo to Cape Town though.

When we have power.

I listen to the news and the local Power company denying that there is a shortage. Yet we have daily *skimming* where power failures, ranging from thirty minutes to five hours , depending on the day or time puts a clamping hand around commerce and daily living, bringing the ability to produce or advance to a grinding halt.

There are only two solutions to the problem. Either we need to generate more power and that is clearly not possible. Or, we need to save power. Save power, in such a way, that we can still have the factory running, the lights burning, the freezers cold and the computer humming.

A company can only cut so much power before it has to scale down or change direction.

Looking at the wisdom of the older countries we found a solution. A system which not only reduces your power bill but reducing the power usage of the average business by fourty percent. It still needs power to operate but it allows you to use a lot less power, enabling the big power companies to work on solutions to generate more power as the demand grows daily.

They told me that electric motors are utilised in the production of almost every product we purchase and yet, international research bodies calculate that "over 50% of drive-power energy could be saved if motors and drive systems became more efficient."

That, to satisfy the growing demand for increased productivity and reduced CO2 emissions, governments from all corners of the globe have identified, not only the need for improved energy efficiency, but also the barriers that sometimes hold companies back from investing in new technology.

This makes sense.

The owner of the company says that the simple answer to the problem is unique by the extent to which it dynamically adjusts power to a motor as its load changes. It constantly monitors the motor's load and calculates the exact amount of power required at any time - reducing the amount of electricity used, increasing the life-span of motors, reducing maintenance requirements and reducing the amount of Carbon Dioxide produced.

I asked about the effect on the environment. The company assures me that the pressure on the world for power affects this adversely and that their unique energy saver will help the environment at the same time.

Managing energy also makes common sense and is now being given high priority within mainstream management.

Their solution reduces the electrical energy usage, however it also delivers many production benefits in terms of reduced maintenance and downtime. The effects of increased equipment life, reduced costs in relation to parts and labour, key operator benefits and more manageable preventative maintenance schedules are significant factors in making the solution attractive for many industrial and commercial customers throughout Africa.

If you run a business, a factory or are the victim of daily or weekly power failures, if your power bill is too high or you want to save more power, it is worth looking at the unique solution that Power4Africa offers.

Fly-wheel presses, injection moulding, conveyors even compressors run more efficiently saving you power and money.

Garth Bell, the managing Director, told me that they give a free quote, show case studies and take you through the instalation. Yes, the after sales service is there because he is an expert in the field of customer services.

The power came back on now. I will be paying less for power whilst using less power from now on.