The launch of South Africa’s wholesale electrical energy market has been pushed again from 1 April to the third quarter of 2026, the Nationwide Transmission Firm South Africa (NTCSA) mentioned on Thursday.
The NTCSA mentioned “extra work” is required to make sure that all market, operational and regulatory necessities are in place, however in a press release on Thursday didn’t specify what stays excellent.
A number of licence circumstances connected to the market operator licence granted by Nersa in December 2025 are nonetheless being finalised, it mentioned.
The delay is a setback for South Africa’s electrical energy reform programme. The wholesale market – generally known as Sawem – is the mechanism via which unbiased energy producers, licensed merchants and huge consumers would be capable to commerce electrical energy competitively, breaking Eskom’s longstanding monopoly because the dominant purchaser and vendor of energy.
Nersa has thus far licensed 10 electrical energy merchants, together with Inexperienced Electron Market, Discovery Inexperienced and Africa GreenCo, in anticipation of the market’s launch. Eskom board chairman Mteto Nyati mentioned final week that the NTCSA is appearing because the market and system operator on an interim foundation till an unbiased transmission system operator is formally established.
Phased strategy
The NTCSA mentioned it’s adopting a “structured, phased strategy” to safeguard system stability. CEO Monde Bala mentioned the introduction of the market “will signify a big step ahead for South Africa’s power sector” when all necessities are met.
Learn: Huge step ahead in opening South Africa’s electrical energy market
The entity didn’t decide to a agency date inside the third quarter, which ends on 30 September 2026. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
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