FAQ
Wheeling is the delivery of electricity generated by a private operator in one location to a buyer or offtaker in another location via a third-party network (Eskom or Municipality).
Currently Trading is the buying and selling of electricity generated by multiple Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in many locations to one or multiple buyers (offtakers) in different locations. A NERSA Trading license is required to trade electricity in South Africa.
Enpower Trading is one of a select few companies in South Africa with a NERSA Trading licence.
Renewable energy penetration refers to the percentage of renewable energy consumed as a percentage of the total energy consumed.
A company with a 50% renewable energy penetration rate receives half of its energy from renewable sources and the other half from fossil fuels, such as coal.
- Increased renewable energy penetration; up to 100%.
- Cheaper electricity prices.
- Fixed tariff escalation: increased ability to forecast.
- Wheeled energy can complement on-site solar.
- A good solution for companies that don’t have the appropriate location for on-site solar.
- No up-front capital costs.
- Contract flexibility, with shorter term 5-year contracts.
- Can be used to provide electricity to multiple sites.
- Aligns with ESG policies.
- Access to RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates).
Enpower Trading enables your company to leverage highly experienced Trading expertise and track record.
- Enpower Trading has numerous employees with international energy Trading expertise.
- The Trading model allows a business to manage their portfolio in a single view.
- Flexibility: through Trading you have the ability to reallocate renewable energy across the whole portfolio with one agreement.
- Customers are able to further reduce risk by adding new generation capacity.
- Enpower Trading is IPP and generation resource agnostic.
- Enpower Trading has access to a variety of generation resource.
- Through Trading your business is guaranteed savings.
- Enpower Trading will work with your business to assist with meeting your short-term and long-term strategy to transition to green energy.
- Enpower Trading is one of the few companies in South Africa with live operations.
- Enpower Trading offers shorter term contracts.
- Digital Solutions allow for streamlines processes.
- Traders allow for multiple sources of renewable generation, reducing the reliance on
only one source of energy. - B-BBEE rating.
- Increased renewable energy penetration; up to 100%.
- Cheaper electricity prices.
- A good solution for companies that don’t have the appropriate location for on-site
solar. - Can be used to provide electricity to multiple sites.
- Aligns with ESG policies.
- Access to RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates).
- On-site generation can only provide electricity to the one physical site.
- On-site solar can only be installed where conditions permit. Limiting factors include available roof space, direction and slant of roof, irradiation levels, building regulations, etc.
- On-site solar has a lower penetration rate compared to wheeled solar.
- On-site generation is limited to solar, which might not match your load profile.
- On-site solar takes time to install and has capital outlay costs.
- Theft and damage are considerations when installing solar panels.
- Wheeling has longer duration contracts, generally 20 years vs Trading’s 5 year starting contract.
- With Trading you can source generation from multiple sources.
- Trading energy simplifies the contracting of addition generation, facilitating the scaling of renewable energy penetration.
- Trading requires a NERSA Trading licence.
General Requirements:
- The customer needs to be on Time of Use billing.
- A minimum usage demand size is 250 000 kWh per month.
- Customer requires a MV grid connection.
Currently it is not possible to Wheel to Low Voltage (LV) Eskom connected offtakers, however electricity can be Wheeled to a municipal connected LV offtakers.
Enpower Trading is currently Wheeling to LV offtakers in George Municipality with great success.
Yes! Enpower Trading is committed to strategic partnerships to assist with the transformation of our business and the future of energy in South Africa. Enpower Trading equips their Sales Partners with the skills and necessary understanding as well as providing access to helpful resources and support in order to empower them.
Get in touch with Enpower Trading to see if your business qualifies as a strategic partner.
Enpower Trading is an Exempt Micro Enterprise with a Level 4 designation. Enpower Trading is committed to achieving a Level 2 rating when it qualifies as a Large Enterprise.
Yes.
Customers are still susceptible to load-shedding.
Whilst Wheeling electricity doesn’t mitigate load-shedding, the customer can still reap the financial benefits as total energy consumption is calculated and then offset on their electricity bill.
A Use of System agreement is a contract/agreement between the trader and the distribution Licensee/Municipality for use of its distribution System for the transmission of electricity within the municipal grid.
- Mitigates off-grid flight.
- Maintains revenue derived from electricity.
- Less credit risk.
- Employment opportunities.
- Greening the Municipality.
As the electricity landscape evolves, the market will likely begin to reflect that of other liberalized electricity supply industries, where private generation exists alongside public generation, and fair competition is facilitated through an independent market working alongside Distribution (Municipalities) and Transmission system operators.
A shift toward ‘grid-centricity’, where the Municipality becomes an infrastructure provider and ‘rents’ the grid out as a service, will allow more energy to flow through the grid – providing customers with access to different sources of energy with the objective of long-term security of electricity Supply.
If Municipalities provide their customer with access to different energy sources, the customer is able to get all their energy needs from their local grid instead of going elsewhere for other solutions, mitigating off-grid flight.
Municipalities being ‘Grid-Centric’ effectively enables them to leverage their grids to provide optionality, accelerating an open energy market.
Yes - Enpower Trading has been successfully Wheeling electricity in the George Municipality since 2022.
Revenue surplus neutrality is pertinent to note when it comes to Municipalities. Historically Municipalities have been reliant on the mark-up on electricity sales as a key component of their business model and thus revenue.
Enpower Trading’s business and tariff model ensures that Municipalities retain this revenue and are kept whole.
The Municipality currently buys all its energy from Eskom at an Eskom-approved tariff. The Municipality adds a markup and other costs to the Eskom tariff and sells the energy at the municipal tariff.
When the Municipality wheels energy, the Municipality will see a reduction in revenue equal to the reduction in cost, and therefore retain all of its surpluses.
In other words, Enpower Trading will be competing directly with the Eskom tariff, and not with the Municipality.
This concept is visually explained below:
Figure 1: Diagram reflecting the difference between “Wheeling” tariffs and “No Wheeling” tariffs.
- IPPs can focus on their core business.
- Digital solutions allow for streamlines processes, reducing complexity.
- Enpower Trading increases the probability of bankable projects owing to credit-worthy offtakers.
- Portfolio of credit worth customers reduces risks.
- Avoids the complexity of Government procurement processes.
- Enpower Trading can work with smaller customers, providing access to more C&I customers.
- Opening access to credit worthy customers.
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