Unlocking Energy Stability: An Approach to Managing Load Shedding in eThekwini Municipality by Leveraging the Potential of Battery Energy Storage Systems

While maintaining the delicate balance between grid stability and economic productivity, load shedding remains a crucial yet contentious aspect of South Africa's energy landscape. South Africa has been load-shedding since 2007; however, the country experienced the highest amount of load shedding in 2022, where 11 529 GWh was shed. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has adopted edition 3 of the National Rationalised Specification (NRS) 048, part 9, designed to facilitate the controlled reduction of up to 80% of the base load by rotating across 16 predefined load-shedding stages. While load shedding is beneficial to maintain network stability under grid constraints, it negatively impacts productivity and the economy. This research paper investigated the role of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in mitigating 360 random load-shedding events per annum, each lasting two hours, and has shown the immense potential of BESS. With an initial investment of R 250 000 000, ten, 4 MWh, Lithium-Ion BESS maintained the continuity of supply during load shedding; however, the cost to do so translated to R 12.61 kWh, which is R 10.92 kWh more when compared to the grid price of electricity. However, this cost is significantly lower than the estimated Cost of Unserved Energy (COUE), which is R 29.05 GVA/kWh, where GVA represents the gross value added to the economy. Comparatively, the BESS system proves to be a more feasible option, offering optimism for a more stable energy supply in the future. These findings highlight the potential of BESS in managing load shedding and provides valuable insights into its cost and effectiveness.