Goldrush Huawei Power-S Case Study

Case study overview

 

Many South African businesses have found that dealing with load shedding, and now, load reduction comes with its own set of costs and headaches. 

Keeping the power on usually means using a mix of UPS systems, inverters and diesel generators. This isn’t without its downsides. For example, UPS batteries often need frequent and costly replacements, and using diesel is not only expensive but also highly polluting. Inverters can be a hit or miss in terms of reliability, safety and cost-savings. 

Traditionally, many companies rely on diesel generators to provide power during load shedding/load reduction. This is expensive, and leads to equipment failure due to the power delivered not being of the required quality and being environmentally unfriendly.

Plus, these solutions are often a confusing mix of different technologies with many vendors, rather than a single, seamless power system.

South African businesses face a tough challenge: how do you keep making money and keep your customers happy during load shedding/load reduction?  

Also, how do you reduce your diesel use and prevent astronomical electricity prices from eating away at your profits?

 

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The customer

 

Goldrush is a leading South African diversified gaming group that operates many casinos across the country. As a high-profile hospitality business, a consistent and cost-effective power supply is particularly important for Goldrush.

A continuous, seamless supply of electricity is needed to provide a consistent level of customer service to the casino sites and to maintain the environment which customers expect. 

Critically in the current case, essential equipment downtime and failure would disrupt Goldrush's business operations and result in significant losses when client-serving machinery is not operating. 

They needed a reliable solution to load shedding that ensures seamless and sustained power, while allowing more cost-effective, green power strategies.

 

The challenge

 

Goldrush spent approximately R900 per hour on diesel generators, a significant additional operational expense (100 hours of load shedding in a given month would thus translate into a monthly R90 000 diesel expense). Critically, diesel generators tend to fail, causing a loss of revenue during load shedding periods. 

Goldrush experienced numerous generator failures, with significant lost revenue during each period of downtime. That loss can be estimated at R3,000,000 to R 10,000,000. This is definitely not sustainable and they needed an urgent solution.

 

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The solution

 

Logicalis South Africa's Critical Power team has partnered with Huawei Digital Power, a leading global provider of business digital power solutions, to provide the groundbreaking Huawei Power-S system to Goldrush. 

The Huawei Power-S is a fully integrated, fully scalable smart power system that supports multiple power sources such as the grid and renewables. 

As Huawei Digital Power's local service partner, we offer full service, support and expert analysis, scaling and adapting the Huawei Power-S system to meet the client’s specific requirements and helping develop a blueprint for future power security.

 

The business benefits of the Huawei Power-S 

 

Maximising revenue and electricity availability

 

Goldrush opted to initially install the Huawei Power-S at one of their casino sites to test the business continuity case. With the Huawei Power-S,  Goldrush was able to immediately reduce diesel use, without having to eliminate diesel entirely.

Installing the Huawei Power-S on site produced immediate revenue gains for them. In the period from when the system was installed in October 2023 to January 2024, they saved over R400 000 in diesel costs, based on the load shedding hours during that period.

From an operational continuity perspective, all revenue-generating equipment ran without downtime with the Huawei Power-S installed, plus the full customer experience can be maintained. Customers did not even notice the power switchover during load shedding.

 

Flexibility, precision and control: A modular system with central view

 

The Huawei Power-S is an integrated system that provides a flexible all-in-one power solution. 

This offers immediate benefits, even at the point of installation. Traditional power solutions usually need multi-vendor management and consist of a patchwork mix of technologies. The downside to this is additional complexity, expense and potential incompatibilities, breakdowns and unforeseen downtime. Repairs and maintenance can be very expensive and unpredictable.

The modular design of the Huawei Power-S is purpose-built for ease of maintenance without interruption. 

Individual components can be removed and replaced without downtime to your business. Monitoring is proactive, identifying potential issues before they occur, enabling more pinpointed maintenance and reducing the risk of downtime. 

By contrast, in more traditional power setups, damage to one component in the inverter or battery system requires the whole system to be removed for repairs or replacement.  

 

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Future-proofing business power supplies

 

Goldrush plans to ultimately move away from diesel and adopt solar as a power source. This will become increasingly urgent as diesel prices remain volatile; moreover, Eskom is set to increase electricity prices and has indicated it will charge more for companies that use additional electricity to power batteries.

The scalable Huawei Power-S system, supported by Logicalis South Africa’s professional guidance, enabled Goldrush to implement an immediate cost-saving solution that also accounts for longer-term growth and new power strategies.

The flexible technology is also ideal for taking advantage of green incentives. The South African government has introduced significant tax incentives for businesses that install renewable energy solutions. 

As a complete multi-source power system, the Huawei Power-S enables businesses to seamlessly incorporate solar or other renewable sources as convenient, and to scale these up as required. Managers can thus develop flexible strategies to reduce their carbon footprint, optimise energy costs and leverage relevant incentives.

 

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Key takeaway from the case study 

 

Logicalis provided Goldrush with a smart system that ensures business continuity during load shedding/load reduction, reducing the high cost of load shedding (such as diesel expenditure) and offering a flexible, modular approach that allows Goldrush to scale up in line with their strategy.

The Huawei Power-S offers a holistic solution to complex power requirements. 

Installation can be achieved quickly and efficiently, backed by full-service support.

While South Africa’s electricity crisis remains and new challenges like load reduction emerge, more innovative solutions will be needed. 

This case study demonstrates how smart technology makes it possible to respond to your immediate power supply needs, and help you to design sustainable and cost-effective longer-term strategies.

For more information on how we can help your business reduce power costs and future-proof your power supply, visit our Critical Power Solutions page or contact us for an expert consultation

About Logicalis 

 

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We are Architects of Change™. We help organisations succeed in a digital-first world. At Logicalis, we harness our collective technology expertise to help our clients build a blueprint for success, so they can deliver sustainable outcomes that matter.

Our lifecycle services across cloud, connectivity, collaboration and security are designed to help optimise operations, reduce risk and empower employees.

As a global technology service provider, we deliver next-generation digital managed services, to provide our clients with real-time visibility and actionable insights across the performance of their digital ecosystem including; reliability, user experience, security, economic performance and sustainability. 
 

Our 7000+ ‘Architects of Change’ are based in 30 territories around the globe, helping our 10,000+ clients across a range of industry sectors, create sustainable outcomes through technology.

Logicalis has annualised revenues of $1.8 billion, from operations in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Africa. It is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with revenues of over $5.5 billion.