Drop Litigation, Eskom Told

Rationale: Intention to Balance Interests of Power Utility and Its Regulator

- Antoinette Slabbert

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has called on Eskom to drop its court challenge to energy regulator Nersa's approval of five electricity trading licences and one import/export licence.

He seemingly balanced the interest of the utility and its regulator, both reporting to him, by recognising Eskom's concern about the lack of clear rules for these activities and announcing that Nersa has expedited its timeline for finalising the rules from one year to three months.

Since Eskom launched the court challenge, Nersa has approved two more trading and two import/export licences, with several more under consideration.

Electricity traders play an important role in making renewable energy accessible at an affordable price for smaller businesses that are unable to enter into bilateral agreements with independent power producers on their own.

While electricity trading has been part of the electricity supply market for more than a decade, the number of companies wanting to enter the space has increased since the market reform picked up momentum.

News that Eskom had served papers to make good on its earlier threat to challenge the licence awards prompted sharp responses from industry.

Chris Yelland, managing director of EE Business Intelligence, accused the utility of "institutional amnesia, denialism and resistance to long-standing reform commitments that Eskom itself has acknowledged for decades".