Times Of Swaziland: ESERA REVIEWING POWER MARKET PLAYING FIELD

ESERA REVIEWING POWER MARKET PLAYING FIELD
================================================================================
Ashmond Nzima on 27/01/2022 08:33:00


MBABANE - As the energy market evolves and the sizes of generation plants from
alternative energy sources increase, ESERA is now reviewing the country’s grid
code.
The Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) is a category ‘A’ public
enterprise which was established in terms of the Energy Act of 2007. An
individual consultant is needed for the review of the Eswatini grid code;
network code and renewable power plant code. This is as per an invitation shared
on the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) website. Online
sources define a grid code as a technical specification which defines the
parameters a facility connected to a public electric grid has to meet to ensure
safe, secure and economic proper functioning of the electric system. The
facility can be an electricity generating plant, a consumer, or another network.
The Eswatini Electricity Supply Industry is currently undergoing several market
structure changes driven by policy reforms and increased uptake of distributed
electricity generation, among other drivers. The National Energy Policy, 2018
seeks to ensure a liberalised sector with a high presence of local generation
capacity to ensure security of supply. On the distributed energy generation
aspect, customers are increasingly installing embedded generators for own use
with the desire to export excess electricity to the national grid.
Industry
Technical regulation of the electricity supply industry is said to be necessary
to ensure compliance to the grid code and applicable technical standards to
ensure safe, quality and reliable supply of electricity throughout the system.
The Grid Code covers a range of technical, operational, commercial and
governance issues, and is broken down into the following subcodes: the Preamble,
the Network Code, the System Operations Code, the Metering Code, the Market
Code, the Renewable Power Plant Code, the Information Exchange Code and the
Governance Code. Of major interest in this assignment is the technical aspects
of connection to usage and impact on performance of the grid by independent
power producers and contestable customers. ESERA has over the past three years
developed regulatory instruments, some of which have recommended that certain
amendments be effected to the Grid Code for their effective implementation.
As the energy market evolves and the sizes of generation plants from alternative
energy sources increase to utility scale projects, lessons have been learnt on
network integration and performance of such plants which often necessitate the
reviewal of relevant grid code documents. The Eswatini Grid Code was adopted in
2016 and in light of developments in renewable energy technologies, the review
and amendment of some aspects of the grid code are required. The revised grid
code should ensure a safe, secure, and reliable operation of the network and
also provide market participants with clear, transparent, non-discriminatory and
predictable rules to support renewable power integration to the grid.
“The revised Network Code (NC) and Renewable Power Plant Code (RPPC) should
promote non-discriminatory access to the transmission and distribution grid, and
further aid in creating a level playing field among power market participants.
The codes are expected to provide certainty and help to reduce regulatory and
investor risks to participate in the local power market,” reads the invitation
in part. Eswatini has network interconnectors with Mozambique and South Africa
(SA) and is a member of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Therefore, it is
critical that the country’s grid code is in harmony with those of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) member states and the regional grid code.
Through the Governance Code, a Grid Code Review Panel (GCRP) was established to
review and recommend amendments to the grid code for the Regulator’s approval,
among other functions. The GCRP is a stakeholder representative panel,
consisting of persons representing market participants. The ongoing procurement
of new generation capacity in Eswatini is likely to result in increased grid
code compliance related matters, and it is important that the capacity of the
GCRP is strengthened to ensure that ESERA receives the necessary advisory
support. All enquiries relating to this tender should be directed in writing to
Ntokozo Sonke Dlamini via email at DlaminiNS@esera.org.sz and Sihle Magagula at
magagulas@esera.org.sz before Tuesday, March 1, 2022. All bids should be in by
March 8, 2022 at noon.