Tag: national grid

We support efforts to ensure the safety and performance of the national grid. We remind businesses and members of the public about the mandatory requirement to register Small-Scale Embedded Generators (SSEG). SSEG refers to a customer-owned generation unit. This unit typically generates less than 1MW/1MVA and connects to the electricity distribution network.

Utility providers are traditionally an attractive target for cybercriminals, evident by the number of high-profile attacks, both globally and locally, in recent years. In fact, the ransomware supply chain attack on the Colonial Pipeline in 2021 became the largest attack in US history, with the payment of a $4.4 million ransom.

Every South African is currently faced with the ongoing negative effects of rolling electricity blackouts, which Government euphemistically refers to as “load shedding”. It affects our businesses, our homes, our livelihoods, our safety and our faith in the future of our country.

As the South African government looks for solutions to the country’s electricity crisis, significant emphasis has been placed on households and businesses investing in solar panels as a way of reducing the pressure on the national power grid.

The electricity crisis in South Africa is self-inflicted. This has become clear from the many costly disruptions in electricity supply over too long a period. There is something fundamentally amiss with government policy in this area. At the centre of the problem is Eskom, the leviathan which enjoys monopolistic protection shielded from potential competition.

With President Cyril Ramaphosa recently admitting that load shedding is ‘inevitable’ for years to come, more and more South African homeowners and business leaders are looking at ways to become more independent from the national power grid.

Load shedding is a reality that every South African business needs to manage. The good news is that there are a wide range of affordable backup solutions on the market that can help your business to stay productive when the lights go out.

On December 8, 2020, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) gazetted ‘Regulations for the Mandatory Display and Submission of Energy Performance Certificates for Buildings’. This legislation signifies that by December 2022, certain buildings in South Africa must have and display an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

As Eskom carries out critical maintenance on its failing units, South African landlords and facilities managers have to implement measures of their own to ensure energy security for their properties. There certainly appears to be no foreseeable end to the current load shedding, and facilities managers now have to factor in rolling blackouts as part of the daily management equation.

In the first quarter of the year, Eskom and the government committed to developing a workable strategy to stabilise the national grid as capacity is ramped up and maintenance is scheduled. Following a briefing by deputy president David Mabuza on events at the national utility and electricity constraints, a Technical Review Panel appointed by the Eskom board and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan promised a plan by April.