The news: President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday announced the beginning of the end of Eskom's monopoly on selling electricity by publishing legislative amendments that will enable the trading and reselling of electricity among private players.
What we know: Amendments to the Electricity Regulation Act were gazetted by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe on Thursday. The regulations are open for 30 days of public comment.
The details: The amendments also make provision for the licensing of an independent operator of the national electricity grid – the Transmission System Operator – which has been legally established by Eskom, in the first of several stages of splitting the company. An independent grid operator will be a crucial step to levelling the playing field between Eskom and what is expected to be a growing number of independent power producers selling into the national grid.
