The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) will conduct a public hearing on Eskom’s request to classify congestion curtailment – an operational strategy used to manage and mitigate grid congestion – as a constrained generation ancillary service.

In May, Eskom applied to NERSA to reserve grid connection capacity for public independent power producers (IPPs) in preparation for the upcoming Bid Window 7 procurement process. This would be at the expense of private IPP projects.

“South Africa is currently facing challenges in terms of electricity capacity. It is crucial that any new generation capacity be connected to the grid as soon as it is available. Currently, the transmission grid is constrained, particularly in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape where most of the renewable energy resources are situated,” NERSA said in its consultation paper published on July 5.

The proposed framework for congestion curtailment will apply to all renewable energy resources connected to the grid due to their intermittent nature. This includes all renewable energy IPPs (section 34 and private IPPs) as well as renewable energy plants operated by Eskom. Existing and new IPPs will be affected, the paper states.

Eskom has indicated that congestion curtailment will only be necessary once the 3 470 MW specified in the Generation Connection Capacity Assessment 2025 addendum is connected to the grid – a process expected to take at least 18 to 24 months. Consequently, congestion curtailment is expected to be implemented from 2026.

The virtual public hearing will be on August 22 from 09:30. Anyone interested in attending or presenting their views must submit their requests by August 5. Requests can be sent to publichearings@nersa.org.za.