NERSA formally publishes licences for new grid company

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has officially published on its website the three licences required for the operationalisation of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), having approved their transfer from Eskom to the NTCSA last year.

The NTCSA is in the process of being established as an independent subsidiary of Eskom Holdings as part of a far-reaching restructuring process initiated in 2019 to unbundle the vertically integrated utility into three independent businesses of transmission, distribution and generation.

While the licensing has been implemented under the current Electricity Regulation Act, the transfer is also aligned with amendments currently before lawmakers aimed at facilitating a more competitive market structure.

The separation of NTCSA has also been prioritised ahead of that of distribution, whose unbundling is also well advanced, and generation, owing to the importance of having an independent transmission, system and market operator in levelling the playing field between the Eskom generators and those of independent power producers.