On 31 October 2025, in a milestone achievement for regulatory certainty in South Africa, the Minister of Electricity and Energy (the Minister), signed into law the Electricity Transmission Infrastructure Regulations.
Ricardo Pillay, Team Lead, LnP Beyond Legal, Energy Team
This is a decisive step toward regulatory clarity, investor confidence, and accelerated infrastructure delivery under South Africa’s evolving electricity market framework.
The regulations establish a new legal framework for the planning, procurement, development, and management of electricity transmission infrastructure in South Africa. These regulations seek to facilitate private sector involvement and expedite the establishment of new electricity transmission infrastructure while ensuring national system reliability and regulatory consistency.
They provide much anticipated regulatory certainty for the Infrastructure Transmission Programme (ITP), enabling streamlined procurement, standardised risk allocation, and alignment with the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act.
Who does it apply to?
The regulations apply to buyers, users, procurers, transmission service providers, the Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Department of Electricity and Energy, and the Regulator.
Exceptions are provided for TSO SOC’s establishment or procurement of new transmission infrastructure not subject to ministerial determination, and for the execution of functions specifically assigned to TSO SOC under section 34B of the Act.
What is its purpose?
The primary purposes are to facilitate planning and procurement of private parties for the establishment of new transmission capacity, expedite transmission infrastructure, support system reliability and security, and facilitate connection of generation assets.
What steps need to be taken in relation to the TSA?
Before concluding a transmission services agreement (TSA), the procurer must ensure the TSA delivers value for money, and contains an appropriate risk transfer, effective contractual mechanisms, and due diligence on the ITPs.
Buyers are required to co-operate in good faith with all involved parties to guarantee the TSA’s efficacy, providing access to information and systems as needed.
How does it deal with cost recovery?
The regulations also provide a structured and categorical approach for buyers to recover costs through regulatory-approved tariffs or charges, covering a broad spectrum of activities from development costs to termination expenses, subject to regulatory oversight and reasonable efficiency. There are explicit mechanisms for pre-approval and documentation to ensure the predictability and adequacy of cost recovery.
The regulator, when setting tariffs and licence conditions, must ensure buyers can recover all efficiently incurred costs tied to transmission projects, including development, payments to providers, administrative costs, and risks from agreement terminations. Buyers can request confirmation of recoverable cost categories in advance, to which the Regulator must respond promptly.
How does it ensure grid reliability?
The regulations are specifically intended to expedite new transmission infrastructure, support grid reliability and security of supply, facilitate generation connections, and ensure predictable implementation of expansion plans. This focus aligns sectoral investment and operations more closely with national energy security, grid stability, and the transition towards increased generation capacity.
A milestone for South Africa’s electricity and energy market
The regulations mark a shift towards a more open, regulated, and structured electricity transmission sector, with enhanced private sector access, robust regulatory oversight, mechanisms to ensure investment returns, and a focus on grid modernisation and reliability.
They also create more nuanced options for project design and execution, especially regarding cross-border initiatives and exceptional circumstances, coupled with safeguard mechanisms for energy security and public oversight.
