Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has welcomed the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (NERSA) decision to approve the trading and import/export license applications by the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA).

The NTCSA is wholly owned by Eskom as the state-owned company is being restructured into the generation, transmission and distribution subsidiaries.

“This is great news for the people of South Africa. We now have in place all the critical elements for creating a more dynamic, a more responsive and a competitive electricity industry.

“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. This is a significant milestone as it also paves the way for the procurement of power from across the region,” Gordhan said.

The department explained that NTCSA applied for trading license in order to be able to to buy and sell electricity from power stations and independent power producers.

“The terms of the NTCSA’s trading licence will be five years as a transitional arrangement to allow for transition from the exclusive trading arrangement and incorporation of changes that may emanate from the ERA amendment 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 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.