If all goes according to plan, South Africa will be operating an independent wholesale electricity market by 1 April 2026.
The ‘aspirational’ date was put forward by Andrew Etzinger, of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), to the parliamentary portfolio committee on electricity and energy on 11 June, according to Engineering News.
The NTCSA, operating as an independent subsidiary of utility Eskom until the establishment of a fully independent transmission system operator (TSO) within five years, has applied to the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for a market operator licence for the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (Sawem), Etzinger said.
It is also making good progress in developing a market code to define the rules of engagement and qualifying criteria for market participants. Nersa must also sign off on the market code, which will be open to public comment following a final workshop in June.
‘The electricity market is coming … and we are very excited from the NTCSA point of view to be part of the development, introduction and, ultimately, the running of the market,’ Etzinger told Parliament.
In addition to developing the market code, and setting up Sawem and the TSO, the NTCSA is responsible for maintaining and expanding South Africa’s transmission and distribution grid.
