The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) reports strong interest in its recently launch three-day educational programme to prepare potential participants for the launch next year of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM).

The first official SAWEM School was hosted at the Wits Business School in late July and attracted more than 60 participants, drawn from academia, trading companies, large power users, the NTCSA itself and various other entities. It followed on from an earlier pilot school that involved more than 40 participants.

NTCSA senior manager for market operations Keith Bowen describes the launch of the SAWEM School as one of several milestones in ongoing efforts to prepare for the launch of the SAWEM early next year.

Other key milestones relate to the building of internal capacity at the NTCSA to ensure it is able to function as the Market Operator, as well as to it securing various regulatory approvals.

Bowen confirms that the NTCSA has applied to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for a Market Operator licence and that it will be submitting the most updated version of the Market Code for regulatory scrutiny in September.

It is also likely that Nersa will need to approve the wholesale tariffs, as well as the vesting contracts that will be put in place for existing generators during the transition from a regulated market to a competitive one.

The Market Code has been heavily consulted and Bowen reports that the latest version will be canvassed with stakeholders again in September prior to its submission for Nersa’s approval.

There is an expectation that the regulator will open up these processes for public comment and public hearings.

Therefore, Bowen acknowledges that the schedule for consultation, adjudication and approval is “extremely tight” if the NTCSA is to meet its target launch date of April 1, 2026 to coincide with the start of its new financial year.

The idea is to launch the trading platform in phases and to begin allowing market participants to engage in day-ahead and intra-day trading in a way that aids price discovery and increases accountability for market balancing.

At minimum the first phase of the launch will include the Eskom power station fleet and those independent power producer (IPPs) generators procured under South Africa’s public procurement mechanisms.

However, NTCSA is hoping to be in a position to open the market to other IPPs that are selling electricity to single or multiple customers by means of power purchase agreements, as this will improve the ability of the system operator to anticipate and schedule generation to ensure sufficient supply.

The NTCSA is preparing to scale-up its own internal capacity in preparation for the launch, having established a market operations function at Simmerpan, in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, where NTCSA’s National Operations Centre is also located.

Bowen says there are currently eight employees dedicated to market operations and that the intention is to grow to 40 employees by April.

A recruitment process is under way with a particular focus on securing individuals with information technology qualifications and experience.

In parallel, NTCSA is hoping to broaden the reach of the SAWEM School beyond Gauteng, with its next three-day course scheduled to take place at the University of Cape Town between August 26 and 31.

Another three-day course will take place at Discovery's head office in Sandton in September and the NTCSA’s Palesa Zwane reports that discussions are under way with universities in several other provinces, with a SAWEM School likely to be held in KwaZulu-Natal in October.

Graduation from the SAWEM has been made mandatory for any participant in the market when it is launched and Zwane says the course has been designed to offer participants insight into the future market structure, including the roles and responsibilities of each participant.

The course exposes participants to issues such as the financial settlement processes, credit management, and risk mitigation, and includes expert-led case studies and simulations that reflect real-world market scenarios.

Zwane says the in-person course is currently oversubscribed and that the NTCSA is hoping to partner with private and public companies to broaden its reach, while keeping costs low.

Those who register for the course currently pay only R1 500 to participate over the three days, owing to the support the NTCSA has received from partners such as the Wits Business School, Discovery Green, German development funder GIZ, UCT, and the Energy Council of South Africa.

“We are very keen to enter into yet more partnerships so that we can take this course countrywide and keep costs low,” she says.