The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), in conjunction with industry representatives within South African Smart Grids Initiative (SASGI) developed first national smart grid vision document. The vision document articulates the long-term aspirations and development objectives for the electricity supply industry in South Africa and the country goals towards achieving the benefits of a Smart Grid (SG).

The South African smart grid vision statement is summarised by SASGI as “An economically evolved, technology enabled electricity system that is intelligent, interactive, flexible, effective, efficient, will enable South Africa’s energy use to be sustainable for future generations”.

A Smart Grid core area is to employ innovative products and services together with intelligent monitoring, control, communication, and self-healing technologies to:

▪ Better facilitate and manage the connection and operation of all sources of energy.

▪ Give consumers more choice so they can help to optimise energy use.

▪ Provide consumers with greater information and choice of supply.

▪ Significantly reduce the environmental impact of the whole electricity supply system.

▪ Deliver enhanced levels of reliability and security of supply.

The developed vision document provides a common vision for the adoption of smart grids across the three spheres of the electricity supply industry with a focus on the distribution segment, managed by municipal electricity departments.

The SANEDI Smart Grids team has taken the lead to update the current vision document to ensure it is still relevant to South Africa and the challenges the industry faces, as a lot has changed within the electricity supply industry in South Africa.