Load shedding guidelines not signaling blackout danger – Nersa

Load shedding

Cape Town – The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved revised protocols for implementing load-shedding up to stage 16.

The updated protocols, outlined in the latest revision of the load-shedding Code of Practice, were developed collaboratively by experts from Eskom, the Energy Intensive User Group, municipalities, and Nersa.

The revision consolidates load-shedding stages from Stage 1 to Stage 16 into a single system, aiming to assist Eskom and municipal distributors in managing high load-shedding stages and preventing grid collapse.

Key changes include centralising control over load-shedding decisions, establishing baseline energy levels for customers, allowing customers to reduce energy use by up to 50%, and providing guidance on smart meter usage.

According to SABC, Nersa, has, however, clarified that approving new guidelines for implementing load shedding does not indicate an imminent blackout.

“ Load shedding is one of the most effective and efficient management tools globally to prevent us from going into a total blackout and a collapse of the grid, that’s in essence the intent of the new edition three.

“We don’t want to get into a blackout and South Africa has been fortunate to have never had a blackout for the last 100 years of the existence of Eskom. The second point is that when we get to higher stages of load shedding it does not mean that we are closer to a blackout,” the report quoted the energy regulator’s Vally Padayachee as saying.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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