The Grid Connection Code for Battery Energy Storage Facilities (“BESF Code”) approved in July 2021 by NERSA sets the minimum technical and design grid connection requirements for BESF to connect to the grid. 

The BESF Code, although, relatively new will become increasingly important as we see a market shift towards using energy storage to resolve South Africa’s electricity crisis. Recent market trends both under the public procurement programme and within the private sector have seen an increase in using energy storage to benefit the South African power system. The solution BESF provides is simple – with energy storage, we see energy generated supplied at a later stage with a time-delay mechanism which allows for a wide range of benefits.   

One of the important features of the BESF Code (which is often over-looked) is that Network Service Provider (“NSP”) is empowered to curtail or disconnect the BESF if there is a risk of:

• Unsafe system operation;
• Congestion in the system or bottlenecks;
• Unintentional islanding; 
• Static or dynamic grid instability; and 
• Instability due to frequency increase. 

NERSA in approving the BESF Code confirmed that this empowering provision is in line with international best practice. What this means is energy curtailment or to temporary disconnect under the BESF Code is permitted. NERSA, in approving this regime, considered that this was done so that the required instantaneous and autonomous response for low and high frequency range supported the System Operator in balancing supply and demand – which improved the quality of supply. 

For this reason the BESF Code sets an Active Power (Curtailment) set-point which allowed for a limit set by the System Operator or NSP of the amount of active power the BESF is permitted to generate or absorb. The manner in which the limit applies would be subject to agreement between the Parties. 

The BESF Code also requires the BESF in charging or discharging mode to be capable of operating at a reduced level if active power is curtailed.  

The BESF Code together with the Renewable Energy Power Plant (“RPP”) Code and the Dispatch Rules (all of which are new and developing) forms the compliance criteria applicable under South Africa’s regulatory electricity framework. This requires carful navigation with legal, technical and commercial to understand the risks of energy storage systems in South Africa. 

At LnP Beyond Legal we are invested in navigating this regulatory regime together with LnP Advisory (our advisory and technical arm) to empower our clients in the Energy Sector to make informed decisions on business objectives before venturing into battery energy storage facilities.  

BESF is being positioned as a strategic priority in the short-term to resolve South Africa’s energy crisis. We encourage our clients to walk this journey with us.