The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act — What It Means for You

The biggest change to South African electricity law in decades happened on January 1st 2025 — the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act. This law does three transformative things.

First, it establishes a Transmission System Operator to run the national grid in real-time, independent of Eskom's generation interests. Second, it expands Nersa's regulatory role and enables electricity trading through willing-buyer, willing-seller arrangements. Third, it sets a five-year timeline for creating a fully independent Transmission System Operator outside Eskom.

For Independent Power Producers like Sonani, this means a clear legal framework for building, connecting, and selling power. For businesses and homeowners, it means more choice and potentially lower electricity prices. The South African Wholesale Electricity Market, or SAWEM, is set to launch in 2026, introducing day-ahead and intraday markets that will fundamentally change how electricity is bought and sold.

The law represents the most significant restructuring of the electricity sector in decades — and projects like Nkangala Solar Park are the first wave of that new reality.