Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) is on a new test of credibility following allegations that it approved the use of substandard disc insulators in its high voltage power transmission lines despite disapproval by the public utility’s experts.The company endorsed the use of cap and pin porcelain insulators into its transmission networks worth about Sh1 billion procured against technical specifications. The procurement of the insulators that were rejected by Tanesco experts are said to pose a great danger to the transmission towers and the technical aspects of the transmission lines.
They were found, for instance, to have about 80 per cent weight increase for a single insulator, which experts said could have significant effects on loading of existing towers.
The Citizen has reliably learnt that an expert who inspected and verified the consignment and twice recommended that the 45,594 pieces of insulators were not fit for use in Tanesco’s transmission line networks, has since been transferred to Mwanza.
In August 2008, the company signed a Sh1 billion contract with M/s Anisha’s Ltd, a company that won the tender for the supply of the equipment. As per terms and conditions of supply, the supplier was required to submit prior to the shipment, a sample of insulator units for approval by Tanesco.
However, M/s Anisha’s unilaterally allegedly decided not to comply with technical specifications outlined in the bid document regarding inspection, testing and quality assurance.
According to two reports of Inspection and Acceptance of teams formed by Tanesco in June last year, factory acceptance testing of the consignment that requires the presence of witnesses from the client (Tanesco), was not done.
“The Inspection and Acceptance Committee is satisfied that the consignment of cap and pin porcelain disc insulators delivered by M/s Anisha’s Ltd are not fit for use in Tanesco transmission line networks,” reads part of the report by four Tanesco experts chaired by Engineer Brown Foi.
The team investigated whether the equipment met specification standards and whether they were fit for the intended use. “The anomalies observed are far beyond the specification and could have been avoided if the supplier had diligently adhered to the contract provisions,” said the report.
As per terms and conditions of supply, the supplier was required to submit prior shipment, a sample of the insulator units for approval by Tanesco. Many of the insulators randomly picked for verification were found to have sheared and cracked.
Following the findings, Tanesco’s managing director William Mhando wrote to M/s Anisha’s on June 29 last year, telling the company to collect the rejected insulators and replace them with new ones manufactured in accordance with Tanesco specifications and technical data provided in the contract agreement.
“The insulators delivered do not fit for use in our transmission lines and therefore Tanesco rejects the delivered insulators,” read part of the letter.
But in an interesting turn of events and highly questionable circumstances, as well as total disregard of recommendations by the firm’s own experts, Mr Mhando threw out their advice and formed a new team to re-inspect the insulators.
Mr Mhando’s team was chaired by Engineer Simon Kihiyo and drew members from Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), Bureau for Industrial Cooperation (Bico) of the University of Dar es Salaam College of Engineering and Technology (CoET) and Tanesco. The committee, despite citing massive irregularities in the tendering procedures and shortcomings in the insulators, concluded that the insulators could be used in the Tanesco system.
“However, there is about 80 per cent weight increase for a single insulator and considering the number of units required up to 16 units for 220kV and 9 units for 132kV, this will have a significant effect on the loading of the existing towers.
“Therefore the committee recommends use of these insulators for replacement to be done only in transmission lines with 66kV lines and below. The insulators can be used in new transmission lines of higher voltages after incorporating weight in design,” the second team recommended.
One of the key findings of the team was that the weight of the insulators was far above the specified one. It recommended replacement of the existing insulators with new ones but be limited to transmission lines of up to 66kV, to avoid overload of existing tower structure.
“This fact may pose some difficulties, when it comes to the task of replacing a disc unit in a string insulator… However, as mentioned before that the tested porcelain disc insulator units satisfy the recommended compliances of power frequency overvoltage and mechanical failing load standards,” further reads the report signed by Dr Mighanda Manyahi of Bico.
Bico manager, Dr Alex Kyaruzi, however, said it should not be involved in any misapplication of its recommendation, which he says were only answers to what Tanesco requested.
“We were only asked to verify whether the supplied insulators were in accordance with specifications but not to decide on their use. There is no way we could say they were fit or not fit for use…. Eventually it is Tanesco who make decisions. We assume they have made due diligence of other considerations,” said Dr Kyaruzi.
Inquiries by The Citizen revealed the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) have carried out investigations regarding massive violation of public procurement rules on the tender.
The authority’s chief executive officer, Dr Ramadhani Mlinga, wrote to Tanesco in July 11, this year, and requested the company to submit all the documents regarding the procurement. PPRA declined to cooperate when this paper sought to know the findings of the investigations despite oral and written requests.
For nearly one month now, the authority’s Public Relations Officer, Ms Coleta Mnyamani’s answer has either been “the CEO who authorised the answers is on leave” or “I am not sure the information you’re seeking is for public consumption or not.”
2011年11月20日星期日
2011年10月31日星期一
Felled coconut tree cuts power in South
A felled coconut tree caused a five-hour power outage in General Santos City and Sarangani province on Sunday, an official of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said yesterday.
Milfrance Q. Capulong, NGCP Mindanao regional corporate communications officer, said the power outage started at 3 p.m. with the tripping of the Matanao-GenSan 138-kilovolt line.
“A coconut tree fell in between tower numbers 38-39... Clearing works were completed and power restored at 8:20 p.m.,” she said in a text message.
The affected line is in Barangay San Pedro, Kiblawan town in Davao del Sur. Ms. Capulong did not say why the tree fell on the transmission line.
At the weekend, Davao Light and Power Co. also explained an electrocuted bird broke the line suspension insulator that resulted in an outage in a major section of Davao City’s downtown on Friday.
“Customers connected to its Gaisano substation had experienced an unscheduled power interruption , which occurred between 7:34 a.m. to 9:06 a.m.,” a company statement said, referring to DLPC.
Customers include businesses covering at least one square kilometer at the city’s central business district.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Perez-Alabanza, NGCP spokesperson, explained late last week that the recent “red alerts” in the Mindanao grid were due to a generation deficiency caused by the scheduled maintenance of some power plants, and the unexpected shutdown or reduced capacity of others.
During periods of generation deficiency, NGCP implements Mindanao grid-wide power load curtailment to maintain the power grid’s security and reliability.
“It is NGCP’s obligation under the law and its franchise to ensure that the grid operates at an optimum level with due consideration for safety, security and reliability,” Ms. Alabanza said.
Based on NGCP’s power outlook as of yesterday, the system capacity of the Mindanao grid stood at 1,276 megawatts (MW), with a peak load of 1,067 MW, or a reserve of 209 MW equivalent to roughly 20% of the island’s expected demand during the day.
Milfrance Q. Capulong, NGCP Mindanao regional corporate communications officer, said the power outage started at 3 p.m. with the tripping of the Matanao-GenSan 138-kilovolt line.
“A coconut tree fell in between tower numbers 38-39... Clearing works were completed and power restored at 8:20 p.m.,” she said in a text message.
The affected line is in Barangay San Pedro, Kiblawan town in Davao del Sur. Ms. Capulong did not say why the tree fell on the transmission line.
At the weekend, Davao Light and Power Co. also explained an electrocuted bird broke the line suspension insulator that resulted in an outage in a major section of Davao City’s downtown on Friday.
“Customers connected to its Gaisano substation had experienced an unscheduled power interruption , which occurred between 7:34 a.m. to 9:06 a.m.,” a company statement said, referring to DLPC.
Customers include businesses covering at least one square kilometer at the city’s central business district.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Perez-Alabanza, NGCP spokesperson, explained late last week that the recent “red alerts” in the Mindanao grid were due to a generation deficiency caused by the scheduled maintenance of some power plants, and the unexpected shutdown or reduced capacity of others.
During periods of generation deficiency, NGCP implements Mindanao grid-wide power load curtailment to maintain the power grid’s security and reliability.
“It is NGCP’s obligation under the law and its franchise to ensure that the grid operates at an optimum level with due consideration for safety, security and reliability,” Ms. Alabanza said.
Based on NGCP’s power outlook as of yesterday, the system capacity of the Mindanao grid stood at 1,276 megawatts (MW), with a peak load of 1,067 MW, or a reserve of 209 MW equivalent to roughly 20% of the island’s expected demand during the day.
2011年8月15日星期一
Headquartered in South Korea
MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation ("MagnaChip Semiconductor") (NYSE: MX), a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, and Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, a fabless provider of high-performance radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits (ICs), today announced that MagnaChip has ramped to mass production of Peregrine's RF switch products utilizing the latest generation "STeP5" UltraCMOS™ SOS (Silicon-On-Sapphire) technology.
UltraCMOS™ technology utilizes a sapphire substrate, enabling high levels of monolithic integration which results in smaller die, higher yields and fewer external components when compared to compound semiconductor processes such as GaAS.
Peregrine and MagnaChip have been engaged in the transfer of the patented UltraCMOS™ technology since mid-2007 and have implemented Peregrine's STeP3 and STeP4 process generations at MagnaChip's 0.35µm manufacturing facility located in Cheongju, South Korea. MagnaChip has now successfully completed the final qualification phase in the transfer of STeP5 process generation and has ramped to high-volume production.
TJ Lee, senior vice president and general manager of MagnaChip's corporate and SMS engineering commented, "We are very pleased to announce MagnaChip's production ramp of Peregrine's latest STeP5 UltraCMOS RF switch products. The continued introduction of these robust and unique RFIC solutions are a direct result of the combined expertise – MagnaChip's manufacturing services and Peregrine's technology and design engineering -- and of the long-term strategic roadmap we have outlined."
Headquartered in South Korea, MagnaChip Semiconductor is a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high volume consumer applications. MagnaChip Semiconductor believes it has one of the broadest and deepest range of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platforms in the industry, supported by its 30-year operating history, large portfolio of registered and pending patents and extensive engineering and manufacturing process expertise.
Peregrine Semiconductor is a fabless provider of high performance radio frequency integrated circuits, or RFICs. Our solutions leverage our proprietary UltraCMOS™ technology, which enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple RF, mixed-signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Our products deliver what we believe is an industry leading combination of performance and monolithic integration, and target a broad range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. UltraCMOS technology combines the ability to achieve the high levels of performance of traditional specialty processes, with the fundamental benefits of standard CMOS, the most widely used semiconductor process technology. UltraCMOS technology utilizes a synthetic sapphire substrate, a near-perfect electrical insulator, providing low parasitic capacitance and enabling high signal isolation and excellent broadband linearity. These attributes result in RF devices with excellent high-frequency performance and power handling performance, reduced crosstalk between frequencies, and enhanced network efficiency. We have engineered design advancements, including our patented HaRP™ technology which significantly improves harmonic and linearity performance, and our patent-pending DuNE™ technology, a circuit design technique that we have used to develop our advanced digitally tunable capacitor (DTC) products. We offer a broad portfolio of high performance RFICs including switches, digital attenuators, frequency synthesizers, mixers and prescalers, and are developing power amplifiers (PAs), DTCs, and DC-DC converters. Our products are sold worldwide through our direct sales and field applications engineering staff and our network of independent sales representatives and distribution partners.
UltraCMOS™ technology utilizes a sapphire substrate, enabling high levels of monolithic integration which results in smaller die, higher yields and fewer external components when compared to compound semiconductor processes such as GaAS.
Peregrine and MagnaChip have been engaged in the transfer of the patented UltraCMOS™ technology since mid-2007 and have implemented Peregrine's STeP3 and STeP4 process generations at MagnaChip's 0.35µm manufacturing facility located in Cheongju, South Korea. MagnaChip has now successfully completed the final qualification phase in the transfer of STeP5 process generation and has ramped to high-volume production.
TJ Lee, senior vice president and general manager of MagnaChip's corporate and SMS engineering commented, "We are very pleased to announce MagnaChip's production ramp of Peregrine's latest STeP5 UltraCMOS RF switch products. The continued introduction of these robust and unique RFIC solutions are a direct result of the combined expertise – MagnaChip's manufacturing services and Peregrine's technology and design engineering -- and of the long-term strategic roadmap we have outlined."
Headquartered in South Korea, MagnaChip Semiconductor is a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high volume consumer applications. MagnaChip Semiconductor believes it has one of the broadest and deepest range of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platforms in the industry, supported by its 30-year operating history, large portfolio of registered and pending patents and extensive engineering and manufacturing process expertise.
Peregrine Semiconductor is a fabless provider of high performance radio frequency integrated circuits, or RFICs. Our solutions leverage our proprietary UltraCMOS™ technology, which enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple RF, mixed-signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Our products deliver what we believe is an industry leading combination of performance and monolithic integration, and target a broad range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. UltraCMOS technology combines the ability to achieve the high levels of performance of traditional specialty processes, with the fundamental benefits of standard CMOS, the most widely used semiconductor process technology. UltraCMOS technology utilizes a synthetic sapphire substrate, a near-perfect electrical insulator, providing low parasitic capacitance and enabling high signal isolation and excellent broadband linearity. These attributes result in RF devices with excellent high-frequency performance and power handling performance, reduced crosstalk between frequencies, and enhanced network efficiency. We have engineered design advancements, including our patented HaRP™ technology which significantly improves harmonic and linearity performance, and our patent-pending DuNE™ technology, a circuit design technique that we have used to develop our advanced digitally tunable capacitor (DTC) products. We offer a broad portfolio of high performance RFICs including switches, digital attenuators, frequency synthesizers, mixers and prescalers, and are developing power amplifiers (PAs), DTCs, and DC-DC converters. Our products are sold worldwide through our direct sales and field applications engineering staff and our network of independent sales representatives and distribution partners.
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