Page 49 - Energize February 2022

TECHNICAL

Registration and application for
connection
Under the current South African policy
and legal framework, any generation,
transmission or distribution facility
operation shall be licensed or registered
with the National Energy Regulator of
South Africa (Nersa). There are three
stages in the process: Registration,
licensing and ministerial determination.
Embedded generation with a capacity
between 100 kW and 100 MW requires
registration with Nersa but does
not need to be part of a ministerial
determination and does not require a
generation license.
Generation facilities with a
capacity above 100 MW must be
licenced by Nersa and be part of a
ministerial determination and national
procurement. Any generation connected
to the grid must be registered with the
relevant transmission or distribution Figure 1: Registration procedure for embedded generators in terms of Schedule 2 of the
grid operator which will determine the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 (Act No. 4 of 2006)
regulations for such grid connection.
Table 1 below details the current Nersa licensing and registration and the application for
Distribution utilities will assess connection (distributor registration) for different embedded generation system sizes.
embedded generation applications of
between 1 and 100 MW as previously, Why is compliance needed?
based on NRS097-2-3 parameters, the • To ensure the safe connection of systems
NRS097-2-1 certification requirement • To ensure compliance with safety regulations (Safety for staff and customers)
and grid impact studies beyond the • To ensure the integrity of grid infrastructure
NRS097-2-3. Aligned with the distribution • To allow for appropriate planning of future grid upgrades and maintenance
utility’s requirements, the amended
Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Legally, the registration and licensing of embedded generation vests with Nersa and
Act 4 of 2006 gives the regulator the not municipalities. Regulation is an administrative activity and Nersa has developed
power to vary, suspend or remove any the applicable procedures. Nonetheless, there is still confusion around application for
registration that does not comply with registration (by Nersa) and application for connection (by the electricity distributor). There
the grid code or the distribution utilities’ are two stages to the registration procedure for embedded generation systems between 100
regulations. Essentially, there are three kW and 100 MW, as detailed in Figure 1.
separate processes to clarify: Firstly, the connection application must be made to the local municipality or Eskom to
• Registration with Nersa connect the generation facility to the electricity grid. Once this process has been completed,
• Generation licensing with Nersa an application must be made to Nersa to register the generation facility. This requires a letter
• Application for connection (distributor from the local electricity distributor (municipality or Eskom) confirming that connection
utility) permission has been granted.

Table 1: Licensing and registration for different system sizes

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