Load shedding: Stage 16 might be on the cards this winter

Eskom has reportedly confirmed that a new national standards document proposes providing load shedding schedules up to Stage 16.

The embattled power utility is currently implementing Stage 6 load shedding and energy experts have not ruled out the possibility of Eskom implementing Stage 8 or higher this winter.

ESKOM TO IMPLEMENT STAGE 16 LOAD SHEDDING?

According to Eskom, the National Rationalised Specifications (NRS) Association of South Africa is finalising the guidelines to ensure that should load shedding beyond Stage 8 become necessary, it is done in an orderly fashion.

The NRS is voluntary forum of organisations formed to collaborate and develop voluntary industry specifications to standardise equipment specifications across the South African Electricity Supply Industry. It is a key body involved with developing and compiling the NRS 048-9 Code of Practice – the code or regulation that essentially governs load shedding.

“The NRS 048-9 Revision 2 describes load-shedding stages up to Stage 8 and obligates all network operators (distributors and municipalities) to develop, publish and implement these schedules when instructed to do so by the System Operator,” Eskom told MyBroadband.

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The Eskom System Operator is responsible for ensuring the stability of the country’s power grid and sets the level of load shedding needed to do so.

As per the publication, Eskom said beyond Stage 8, the System Operator will instruct each province to reduce by a fixed [megawatt] amount. This will be split between the utility’s distribution network owner and the municipal network owners in each province.

“While this is effective in maintaining system stability, there are no predefined schedules of how this additional reduction should be rotated. It is for this reason that NRS 048-9 Revision 3 proposes load-shedding schedules up to Stage 16 in order to make load shedding systematic and orderly,” the power utility said.

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This article was originally published by NOKWANDA NCWANE.