- Nersa has issued new rules governing how grid access is allocated to help speed up SA’s energy transition.
- Under the new “first-ready, first-served” system, generators will need to hit more milestones before being granted access to the network.
- The goal is to reduce “grid hogging”, where developers are granted grid access for speculative projects.
- For more climate change news and analysis, visit News24 Climate Future.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has published much-anticipated new grid access rules, which aim to prevent companies from hogging scarce grid space for speculative projects.
Nersa published the Grid Capacity Allocation Rules in the Government Gazette at the end of December 2025, and they took effect immediately.
In short, project developers will need to provide far more evidence that they are serious about a project and have put in the necessary work to ensure it can go ahead as planned before they will be granted grid access.
Eskom introduced interim grid access rules in 2023, which were refined in early 2025. The recently published rules build on these regulations and add new provisions.
The rules are one of the landmark decisions announced by Nersa in November 2025 aimed at facilitating South Africa’s transition to a competitive electricity market over the next five years.
READ | Nersa announces ‘historic’ steps to set competitive electricity market in motion
The electricity reforms are a key component of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s structural economic reforms to generate economic growth.
The final rules, which were subject to public consultation, formally change how the country’s scarce grid access will be allocated to electricity generators.
They aim to curb so-called “grid hogging”, where grid access is reserved for generators that make little or no progress on a project.
Delays to construction have largely resulted from financial constraints or lengthy environmental approval processes.
This has slowed down South Africa’s energy transition, as scarce grid access has often been reserved for projects that never materialise.
Readiness reward
The rules aim to ensure that there is “non-discriminatory and open” grid access that is “fair and transparent for all applicants seeking grid connection capacity”.
Previously, a “first-come, first-served” system was in place. Network service providers, including Eskom Transmission, Eskom Distribution and municipal distributors, prioritised projects based on when applications were submitted rather than on construction readiness or financial certainty.
Now, Nersa is formally moving to a “first-ready, first-served” system.
Essentially, grid space will only be reserved for developers who can demonstrate that they have already achieved key milestones for a project, including securing financial guarantees, obtaining environmental authorisation, and having applied for or received a generation licence from Nersa.
Once these milestones have been met, the developer will have to submit a “budget quote”, a detailed pricing and technical offer.
Only after this offer has been accepted by the network service provider and the parties have entered into a binding agreement will grid access be allocated to the developer.
Network service providers will be obligated to create a queuing system, where progression will be based on progress through “defined project milestones and validated evidence of project readiness”.
In practice, this means a developer can overtake earlier applicants by hitting milestones earlier.
Any disputes that arise between parties can be referred to Nersa for mediation or arbitration.
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