South Africa prepares plans to avoid the risk of prolonged power outages | Life

2023-05-06 04:07:07

Workers inspect power lines in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

On May 5, the National Rationalization Specifications Association (NRS) said it was revising South Africa’s offloading guidelines, bringing the specifics of off-level 8 offloading closer to reality. .

The new set of rules introduced by the NRS are being reviewed by the South African National Energy Regulatory Authority (Nersa).

Earlier, NRS President Vally Padayachee said: “We cannot guarantee that in the winter we will not pass level 8.” He emphasized that problems could arise if South Africa moves to level 9 offload without specific new regulations to protect the national grid.

Failure to comply with the regulation or not specifying it can lead to an unsatisfactory grid frequency of 50Hz – the frequency that keeps the grid running. If this happens, the power grid could collapse and restart grid could expose South Africa to power-off For many weeks.

[Nam Phi tuyên bố tình trạng thảm họa quốc gia do mất điện kéo dài]

Last month, energy expert Clyde Mallinson forecast South Africa could face a level 9 offload this winter as Eskom faces a shortfall of 11,000MW of generating capacity.

Meanwhile, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa also said Eskom will face a shortfall of between 8,000-11,000MW this winter – which could mean a need to reduce the load from level 8 to level 11.

Currently, Eskom is applying a code of practice with eight levels of load reduction (levels 1-8). Accordingly, each level of load reduction power cut Eskom’s rotation is equivalent to a reduction of 1,000MW of load.

At level 8, South African residents are subject to 48 hours of power outages in a four-day (96-hour) cycle.

Hoang Minh (VNA/Vietnam+)