Cape Town-based independent power trading company Enpower Trading has become the first private South African-incorporated company to secure conditional market participant membership from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

The conditional market participant membership allows Enpower to transact across SAPP’s regional platform, enabling both cross-border electricity imports and exports, and sets the stage for a more dynamic and competitive Southern African energy market.

The membership is set to enhance South Africa’s electricity landscape from a localised system to a multi-nation marketplace, unlocking the ability for companies to source more affordable power, diversify supply and introduce greater competition that will reduce long-term electricity prices.

“This is a landmark moment for Enpower and for the evolution of South Africa’s power market.

“It positions us among a very small group of entities granted approval to participate directly in regional power trading and underscores Enpower’s commitment to unlocking private sector participation and regional energy integration across Southern Africa,” says Enpower CEO James Beatty.

This significantly expands the flexibility available to large commercial and industrial buyers seeking cleaner, more reliable, and more cost-competitive power, he adds.

The final step in the process is the completion of Enpower’s systems operation agreement with the National Transmission Company South Africa to transition from conditional to full SAPP market participant membership.

The membership strengthens Enpower’s platform as a regional aggregator of renewable generation, storage and import/export capacity, with access to multiple bilateral and day-ahead market mechanisms.

“This milestone caters to the broader continental objective of improving intra-Africa trade flows. Today, cross-border electricity trade is constrained by the same barriers that limit wider regional commerce – fragmented policies, infrastructure bottlenecks, and high transaction costs,” Beatty explains.

By enabling a more liquid, rules-based competitive market on SAPP, Enpower can help to reduce these frictions in the power sector and demonstrate how private platforms can play a catalytic role in building a more integrated African economy.

With SAPP market access advanced, Enpower enters 2026 in a position to operate across bilateral and day-ahead markets, opening a new chapter for competitive power trading in Southern Africa.