Though load shedding has had a marked impact on the economy, the country’s data centres have continued to operate.
By Larry Claasen
SOUTH Africa’s data centres’ extensive backup power redundancy has meant they were not significantly impacted by load shedding, according to Cummins, a global provider of backup power solutions for the data centre industry.
Empowering data centre resilience amid South Africa’s load shedding
Data centres are increasingly becoming a key component of the South African economy, and if they were to lose access to power, the knock-on effect could be devastating for the economy.
Given the energy crisis in the country, such a situation could have had far-reaching consequences if not for detailed backup power plans and equipment to prevent this from happening.
Harnessing Cummins generators to secure data centre uptime during the energy crisis
“Data centre power backup systems are designed to meet the load demand of the data centre facility. Therefore, load shedding did not have an impact on diesel-generated power capacity,” says Warrick Gibbens, power generation leader at Cummins Southern Africa.
Gibbens explains that while it is standard practice for data centres globally to have backup power, those operating in South Africa have had to adapt specifically to the energy crisis.
“Data centres across the world already mandate the need for emergency backup supply to their systems to ensure the absolute highest level of site operation uptime and power availability. However, due to the history and level of load shedding in South Africa, every data centre customer – from small co-location facilities to the largest hyperscale data centre operators – has increased their expectations of how long they may need generator power, specifically on a year-to-year, running-hour basis.”
Despite the impact of load shedding, there are few signs that the increased investment in data centres will slow down anytime soon.
Growing quickly
According to the 2023 Africa Interconnection Report, hyperscale data centre providers have committed to spending up to $6-billion (approximately R112-billion) in Africa over the next two to five years. South Africa is set to receive the largest share of this investment, as it accounts for 90% of the African data centre market.
The scale of this investment, and its importance to businesses, means companies setting up these data centres need partners with experience and expertise in providing bespoke solutions tailored to their needs, particularly when it comes to backup power.
Tougher requirements
This means the requirements for backup power systems in data centres are more stringent than in other industries.
“Fundamentally, data centres provide a critical service to their clients, and their success is measured through their commitment to delivering reliable and available power,” says Gibbens.
“Therefore, on-site power generation sources, such as diesel gensets, are considered the most reliable option. This is partly because data centre facility managers do not have full control over the utility network but do have full control over diesel gensets once they are installed on-site.”
A long history
Cummins is one of the first engine manufacturers to be accredited by the Uptime Institute for Data Center Power Ratings and has a track record spanning more than 100 years. The company also offers a premium brand with exceptional engine transient performance, resulting in a fast response time to customer load when utility power is lost.
Strong reliability, backed by both local and global engineering support, coupled with tailored aftermarket solutions, all contribute to Cummins’ reputation as a preferred partner in the industry.
Innovative backup solutions: How generators keep South Africa’s data centres operational
While having a genset is key to ensuring backup power, it is not the only consideration. The complexity of these systems requires digital master control systems (DMCs), which act as the system’s brain.
A DMC improves the reliability of the system and ensures the most economical operation. Gibbens explains that Cummins’ generators feature highly capable controllers, which can manage the generator set as well as some system-level controls when multiple generators are involved.
However, with increasingly complex system topologies and redundancy requirements – especially in critical industries like data centres – a dedicated system-level controller may be necessary to ensure fully efficient and effective management of the system as a whole.
“This usually consists of multiple breakers, multiple diesel generators, and other hybrid power sources on-site. Some of our DMCs are programmed specifically for the site they will control, resulting in a bespoke solution optimised through modelling and redundancy designs. All of this is critical for the data centre industry,” says Gibbens.
