Dlamini-Zuma releases Eskom load-shedding state of disaster regulations

[Nat Quinn]

Cooperative governance minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma gazetted regulations for South Africa’s national state of disaster over the energy crisis.

The regulations designate “critical electronic communications and broadcasting infrastructure” as essential. It allows cabinet ministers to grant load-shedding exemptions for this essential infrastructure.

However, the power to grant exemptions comes with restrictions.

Load-shedding exemptions or reduced rotational power cut schedules for specified essential infrastructure and services may only be granted where technically feasible.

Exemptions must also align with the requirements and obligations of the System Operator, and only to the extent that exemptions or reductions would not result in an increased risk of higher stages of load shedding.

The Eskom System Operator is responsible for balancing supply and demand on South Africa’s electricity grid and determines the stage of load-shedding customers must implement.

Its customers include municipalities and Eskom itself, which design and implement their load-shedding schedules according to the System Operator’s requirements.

Each 1,000MW of electricity capacity shed nationally from the grid represents a stage of load-shedding.

In addition to granting exemptions to telecommunications infrastructure, South Africa’s communications minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, will be able to issue directions on disseminating information required for dealing with the national state of disaster.

Mobile network operators and broadcasters will be required to issue public service announcements on the national state of disaster at no cost to users.

The regulations stipulate that any directions from cabinet ministers must be within their mandate, and done in consultation with Dlamini-Zuma and other relevant cabinet members.

Other essential infrastructure for which exemptions may be granted include health, water, sewerage, rail, ports, and food production and storage.

Water boards and municipalities will be required to revise the minimum operational levels for reservoirs, increase water treatment and reservoir storage capacity, and revise water treatment schedules to maximise water treatment while electricity is available.

The relevant cabinet ministers may allow them to take other measures to ensure water security.

They may also exempt water boards or municipalities that are water service authorities from penalties for exceeding the notified maximum demand during load-shedding periods.

Environmental impact exemptions, feed-in tariffs

In addition to possible exemptions for critical infrastructure, the regulations also cover relaxing environmental impact controls, and developing feed-in tariffs for individuals and businesses to sell electricity into the grid.

Specifically, the regulations will allow:

• Streamlining the application and decision-making processes for environmental authorisations, waste management licences, atmospheric emission licences, condonations and exemptions associated with energy infrastructure and generation, transmission and distribution facilities, for the duration of the national state of disaster;

• excluding upgrades, refurbishments, adjustments and repairs of existing energy infrastructure and existing generation, transmission and distribution facilities, from the provisions of the National Environmental Management Act, or any specific environmental management Act, or any regulations published in terms thereof, for the duration of the national state of disaster;

Essentially, these regulations appear to pave the way for quick-and-dirty repairs to Kusile power station, and potentially fast-tracking an emergency power supply deal with the controversial Karpowership.

It should be noted the ANC has been linked to a potentially corrupt tender involving Kusile’s boilers, which former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has said have the wrong specifications for the plant.

However, the regulations could also pave the way for rapidly introducing feed-in tariffs and allowing privately generated solar power to feed into the grid. In particular, it will enable cabinet ministers to issue directions for:

• Facilitating the sale of electricity generated by individuals, organs of state or private institutions to license distributors as defined in the Electricity Regulation Act 2006 (Act No. 4 of 2006); and

• issuing of rules or guidelines for licensed distributors to implement net billing and other mechanisms to facilitate small-scale embedded generation as well as wheeling of electricity.

Crucially, the regulations allow all activities permitted under the state of disaster to continue after it ends.

This is stipulated as follows:

• An activity which is permitted by an authorisation or exemption granted in terms of regulations or directions issued during the national state of disaster remains lawful notwithstanding the termination of the national state of disaster.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the government said these disaster regulations come after a sitting of the President’s Coordinating Council as well as a special sitting of Cabinet on the evening of Monday, 27 February 2023.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that his administration had declared a national state of disaster to tackle South Africa’s energy crisis during his state of the nation address on 9 February.

 

source:Dlamini-Zuma releases Eskom load-shedding state of disaster regulations (mybroadband.co.za)

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