- The National Rationalised Specifications (NRS) Association of South Africa is finalizing revisions to the country’s load shedding guidelines, extending them beyond Stage 8 to protect the national grid and prevent blackouts.
- The revised code, NRS 048-9 Edition 3, will provide utilities with a structured methodology for reducing the entire load base, potentially resulting in up to 16 load shedding stages.
- The NRS emphasizes that extending load shedding stages is a proactive measure to ensure preparedness and does not necessarily mean that the country will experience load shedding beyond Stage 8.
The National Rationalised Specifications (NRS) Association of South Africa is on the verge of completing the revision of the country’s load shedding guidelines, as it seeks to introduce specific measures for load shedding beyond stage 8. This move is aimed at protecting the national grid and preventing a complete blackout scenario while addressing the deteriorating state of Eskom’s grid and energy availability.
The NRS is a voluntary forum composed of organizations collaborating to create voluntary industry specifications for standardizing equipment specifications across the South African Electricity Supply Industry. It plays a crucial role in developing and compiling the NRS 048-9 Code of Practice – the code or regulation governing load shedding in South Africa.
Vally Padaychee, the NRS chair, has confirmed that the organization is presently working on revising the second edition of the code to expand the current load shedding stages. Edition two only covers up to stage 8, after which emergency contingency measures are required. The NRS aims to remove the need for emergency contingency measures by extending the load shedding stages, thus ensuring that any outages beyond the current plan can be safely managed and the grid protected.
The revised code, NRS 048-9 Edition 3, is expected to be submitted to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in the coming days. The NRS 048-9 Code of Practice is primarily a document driven and executed by electricity utilities, deriving its mandate and authority from Nersa as part of the Electricity Regulations Act.
The first edition of the NRS 048-9 code, established in 2010, capped load shedding stages at Stage 4, representing 25% of the base load. Utilities were expected to “find” electricity load under emergency conditions with 75% of the load not being used. However, finding electricity beyond Stage 4 proved challenging.
The need for Stage 6 load shedding in 2019 prompted the NRS 048-9 Work Group to extend load shedding stages up to Stage 8 (Edition 2), where half the electricity load is shed and the other half awaits shedding. Under such conditions, finding electricity load becomes significantly more difficult.
With the worsening state of Eskom’s grid and energy availability, the NRS 048-9 Edition 3 now aims to provide utilities with a structured methodology for reducing the entire load base. Although this could potentially result in 16 load shedding stages, the final outcome may vary due to other considerations.
The NRS emphasized that just because the new load shedding schedules will extend beyond stage 8 does not necessarily mean that the country will move beyond stage 8; it is merely a proactive measure to ensure preparedness.
In conclusion, the NRS Association wants to reassure the public that the need to plan for load shedding beyond Stage 8 and the removal of associated contingency measures is primarily a proactive measure. This will enable electricity utilities, especially Eskom, to be prepared and ready to respond in the event of a need for load shedding beyond Stage 8 levels. This forward-thinking approach to planning and preparation will help prevent errors and keep as many lights on as possible during elevated load shedding stages.
