Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has welcomed the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s decision to approve the trading and import/export license applications of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA).
Gordhan said the licence approval was “great news” for the country as all the critical elements for creating “a more dynamic, responsive and competitive” electricity industry were now in place.
“The granting of these licences means that the National Transmission Company of South Africa is ready to get down to business and bring a much-needed overhaul of our electricity industry,” Gordhan said.
“This is a significant milestone as it also paves the way for the procurement of power from across the region.”
The NTCSA is wholly owned by Eskom after the state-owned company started undergoing an unbundling process to be restructured into generation, transmission and distribution subsidiaries.
The transmitter applied for a trading license in order to be able to buy and sell electricity from power stations and independent power producers.
According to the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), the terms of the NTCSA’s trading licence will be five years as a transitional arrangement to allow for transition from the previous exclusive trading arrangement and incorporation of changes that may emanate from the Electricity Regulations Amendment Bill and price review processes.
“The licence gives it authorisation to conduct import and export of electricity activities throughout the Southern African Development Community (SADC), using the NTCSA transmission network and the transmission systems of other SADC member countries,” the DPE said.
The NTCSA will operate the transmission system and perform the following key integrated roles to ensure the integrity of the interconnected power system (IPS): Transmission Network Service Provider (TNSP); System Operator (SO); Transmission System Planner (TSP) and Grid Code Secretariat, the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
