At a trade exhibition portion of the Pacific Power Association’s Annual Conference at the Crowne Plaza on September 26, 21 exhibitors presented their products and services to representatives from across the Pacific.
The PPA Annual Conference is on island until September 28, and has brought together participants from all over Oceania, to include Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Tahiti, and beyond.
Speaking at the trade show’s opening, Don Browne, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation board member, said the trade show could be a place where representatives find solutions to utilities hurdles in their countries.
“We need a ‘how’ and a ‘what’ that’s what the expertise on this floor will assist our utilities with–how can we execute and initiate best practicies and what do we need to sustain our future for our islands,” Brown said.
Represented at the trade show were representatives from CBS Power Solutions, Delstar, Itron, ElectraTherm, Sinosaur Hybrid, InHANCE Utilities, Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility, Pacific Women in Power World Bank, S&C Electric Asia Pacificy Pty, ComAp Limited, HDF Energy, Komaihaltec Inc., NOJA Power, Hawthorne, Radian Research, OHM International, Nan Cables, Cummins, Wartsila, Pacific Engineering Projects, and Permix.
One representative, Norton Sutherland of NOJA Power, offered the NOJA Power EcoLink for sale. Sutherland said it could replace fuses on the transformers along powerlines, and that the technology could be used to prevent hours of blackouts.
“This device if it sees an overcurrent situation it will trip and then it will reclose,” Sutherland said. “With this product 80% of the time you don’t actually have to go out, it will reset itself.”
Sutherland says that as of now, his company does not have a foothold in the Pacific, but that could change with his involvement in the trade show.
“This device is perfect for a Pacific island,” he said. “In Australia you can get pretty fast response time for truck roll outs if something happens, but I can imagine in the Pacific Islands it can take long periods of time for power to be restored, and that’s what this product saves.”
Norton Sutherland of NOJA Power stands next to a NOJA Power EcoLink.
Pacific representatives gather at the trade show portion of the Pacific Power Association’s Annual Conference
