The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has applied to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) for a Market Operator licence. The application will allow the NTCSA to operate and administer an electricity market platform.
“This is one of the requirements for us to start the market and to be licensed by NERSA,” Keith Bowen, Senior Manager: Market Operations at the NTCSA, told Energize. He said the application is part of the NTCSA’s roadmap for establishing SAWEM. It has been lodged now to allow NERSA time to process the licence and the Market Code before the planned launch, he added.
The Market Code is currently in draft form while stakeholder consultations are underway. The licence and code will set out how the market will operate including trading, settlement and participation rules.
As Market Operator, the NTCSA will run trading platforms for day-ahead and intraday electricity trading and manage balancing, reconciliation and settlement processes. “The main roles are to provide trading platforms for market participants to trade electricity and to manage the settlement of those trades,” Bowen said.
“Transparency and fair participation are core to the market’s design. Generators, traders and customers will submit bids and offers daily with prices published for each hour of the following day. While individual positions will remain confidential, aggregate prices and market data will be published to improve price discovery and ensure a non-discriminatory platform.”
