Parliament, Saturday, 7 February 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy has concluded a successful week-long oversight programme in Limpopo and Gauteng provinces at the operation centre of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) in Germiston, Gauteng.
This was a second engagement with NTCSA, following the first one on Thursday at Eskom’s Megawatt Park office in Sunninghill, Sandton, in which the NTCSA briefed the committee on progress in relation to the roll out of Transmission Development Plan (TDP).
The committee called for this plan - which it described as a critical intervention to ensure that underserved and rural communities are not excluded from South Africa’s evolving electricity transmission framework - to be localised.
During engagements on Friday, the NTCSA’s presentation focused on the overview of its work as the system operator, thereby reiterating the importance of rolling out the TDP. The committee welcomed the presentation and later conducted a tour led by NTCSA at the national grid operation centre.
NTCSA stated that the TDP was being updated to align with the Integrated Resource Plan 2025 (IRP2025). According to the company, the updated plan will include seven synchronised condensers to stabilise the grid as the amount of renewable energy increases and comes online. The condensers will be synchronised within the first five-year period of the TDP at a cost of approximately R35 to R43 billion.
The committee, however, emphasised the importance of the TDP to be localised to address long-standing electricity access backlogs, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities. During its oversight engagements in Limpopo, the committee was informed that in the Mogalakwena Local Municipality alone, within the Waterberg District, approximately 100 villages remain without access to electricity.
Based on this reality, the committee then noted the urgent need for transmission planning that is responsive to local development needs and aligned with the constitutional imperative of universal access to basic services. Chairperson of the committee, Ms Nonkosi Mvana, said that the transition to a liberalised transmission environment must not reproduce historical inequalities in access to electricity.
Lastly, the committee expressed satisfaction with the work of the NTCSA and wished the company well in rolling out the competitive electricity market once the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) code is approved. It undertook to continue monitoring the rollout of the TDP and the execution of the SAWEM code.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY, MS NONKOSI MVANA
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