The updated Regulatory Rules on Network Charges for Third-Party Transportation of Energy have been released by the Department of Electricity and Energy.
Minister Ramokgopa has released the new rules for third party wheeling of electricity.
Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa shared the updated rules, also referred to as the electricity wheeling framework, with the media at a briefing on 6 May 2025.
Electricity wheeling is the delivery of electricity by a generator in one area to a customer in a different geographical area using existing distribution or transmission networks.
The minister described this move as the “most consequential intervention” in opening up South Africa’s electricity sector.
“It’s going to help us remake the energy and electricity landscape in the country and… bring to life what was envisaged in the Energy Action Plan that the president announced in July 2022.
“It is also consistent with our objective of ensuring that we can achieve energy security in the country. It means we can diversify generation sources, and we don’t rely only on Eskom for electricity generation,” he said.
Conditions for third-party participation include:
- Participants must be licensed and registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)
- Power purchase agreements, connection and use-of-system agreements must be appropriately concluded
- Grid code compliance and auditable metering are required.
Open access
The updated wheeling framework is aimed at supporting open access to the electricity network, which will allow consumers to choose power sources – enabling competition and potentially, lower electricity prices.
The rules are also aimed at supporting:
- Non-discriminatory access: ensuring equal access to the grid for all users
- Cost reflective tariffs: charges that reflect the actual cost of network use
- Fairness and equity: balancing the interests of customers and licensees with non-biased tariffs
- Transparency: promoting unbundled tariffs that show true costs, subsidies and levies
- Network reliability: maintaining the integrity and security of the grid during wheeling
- Standardisation: creating consistent processes across all network service providers
- Regulatory certainty: reinforcing NERSA’s role in governing fair and transparent access
- Just Energy Transition: enabling access to renewable energy through wheeling.
“We are democratising this space. We are not just relying on Eskom as a sole generator of electricity; there will be multiple generators of electricity. And with competition comes efficiency, comes innovation, research and investment, and we are likely going to drive the prices down,” the minister said.
“When we talk about affordable electricity, these are some of the elements that are going to make it possible for us to make energy affordable for everyone, including the poor and those living in villages and peri-urban areas,” Ramokgopa said.
The Energy Action Plan
The EAP was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2022 and is coordinated by the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) under the leadership of the minister.
The plan was set down to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding in the short term and achieve energy security in the long term through five key interventions:
- Fix Eskom and improve the availability of existing supply
- Enable and accelerate private investment in generation capacity
- Fast-track the procurement of new generation capacity from renewables, gas and battery storage
- Unleash businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar
- Fundamentally transform the electricity sector to achieve long-term energy security.
In opening up the electricity supply market, the new electricity wheeling framework supports the acceleration of private investment in new generation capacity and contributes significantly to transforming the electricity sector in South Africa.
For more information visit: www.sanews.gov.za