South Africa. Status: pre launch.
Wholesale design: The current system remains dominated by regulated dispatch, single-buyer procurement and bilateral wheeling. The South African Wholesale Electricity Market code and roadmap are under implementation; this record does not treat SAWEM as an already-operational spot market.
South African electricity supply industry / future SAWEM has 8 ancillary-service products, across 6 families — regulation, frequency containment, contingency reserve, replacement reserve, reactive power & voltage and black start & restoration: Black Start / Self Start / Unit Islanding, Emergency Reserve, Instantaneous Reserve, Regulating Reserve Down, Regulating Reserve Up, Supplemental Reserve, Ten-Minute Reserve, Reactive Power / Voltage Control. Response timing, direction and eligibility for each are in the table below; a product's full record lists the official sources behind it.
Every value below comes from the official sources listed in that product's full record. Most products cite more than one, and the published sources do not say which of them states each individual value, so the binding is to the product's record rather than to a single document. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.
Scroll the table sideways for the rest of the columns →
| Service | How it activates | Response | Sustained delivery | Procurement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation | ||||
| Regulating Reserve Down down operational | Response type continuous; automatic central Trigger System-control signal. | Response starts 10 s Full activation 10 min | As the source describes it Continuous regulation subject to resource limits | System requirement 830 MW (2026/27) Source wording: 830 MW down Do not add up and down directions into a single requirement. Bought Annual/medium-term requirement Through bilateral contract; mandatory provision Pricing design Ancillary-service contract/regulated provision |
Full record for Regulating Reserve Down — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Correct frequency and tie-line deviations under automatic control. What the source says about timing Response begins within 10 seconds and reaches full activation within 10 minutes Who can provide it Qualified generation and demand-side resources. Checkpoint recap Response starts 10 s · Full activation 10 min | ||||
| Regulating Reserve Up up operational | Response type continuous; automatic central Trigger System-control signal. | Response starts 10 s Full activation 10 min | As the source describes it Continuous regulation subject to resource limits | System requirement 830 MW (2026/27) Source wording: 830 MW up Do not add up and down directions into a single requirement. Bought Annual/medium-term requirement Through bilateral contract; mandatory provision Pricing design Ancillary-service contract/regulated provision |
Full record for Regulating Reserve Up — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Correct frequency and tie-line deviations under automatic control. What the source says about timing Response begins within 10 seconds and reaches full activation within 10 minutes Who can provide it Qualified generation and demand-side resources. Checkpoint recap Response starts 10 s · Full activation 10 min | ||||
| Frequency containment | ||||
| Instantaneous Reserve up operational | Response type post-fault; automatic local; event-triggered Trigger Frequency event; generator high-frequency response setting is above 50.15 Hz. Demand-response settings are contracted and tested. | Full activation 10 s | As the source describes it at least 10 min; At least 10 minutes | System requirement 650–850 MW (2026/27) Source wording: 650 MW peak; 850 MW off-peak NTCSA Ancillary Services Technical Requirements 2026/27–2030/31. Bought Annual/medium-term requirement with contracted capability Through bilateral contract; mandatory provision Pricing design Contract terms; instantaneous demand response receives standby payment rather than energy payment |
Full record for Instantaneous Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Arrest rapid frequency decay following a contingency using generation or demand reduction. What the source says about timing Full response within 10 seconds (instantaneous demand response must respond within 6 seconds) Who can provide it Qualified generating units and contracted demand-response loads; demand-response minimum offer 10 MW. Checkpoint recap Full activation 10 s · Minimum sustained 10 min Sources | ||||
| Contingency reserve | ||||
| Emergency Reserve up operational | Response type post-fault; manual; event-triggered Trigger Emergency operating instruction/event. | Full activation 10 min | System requirement 1200 MW (2026/27) Source wording: 1,200 MW Bought Annual/medium-term requirement Through bilateral contract; mandatory provision Pricing design Ancillary-service contract/regulated provision | |
Full record for Emergency Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Provide additional response for severe contingencies and emergency operating states. What the source says about timing Full response within 10 minutes Who can provide it Qualified generation and demand-side resources. Checkpoint recap Full activation 10 min What the source does not state The source states the full-activation requirement and a procurement volume. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained. | ||||
| Ten-Minute Reserve up operational | Response type post-fault; manual Trigger System-operator dispatch following contingency or reserve depletion. | Full activation 10 min | System requirement 520–720 MW (2026/27) Source wording: 720 MW peak; 520 MW off-peak Bought Annual/medium-term requirement Through bilateral contract; mandatory provision Pricing design Ancillary-service contract/regulated provision | |
Full record for Ten-Minute Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Restore instantaneous and regulating reserves following a contingency. What the source says about timing Full response within 10 minutes Who can provide it Qualified synchronized and non-synchronized resources. Checkpoint recap Full activation 10 min What the source does not state The source states the full-activation requirement and a procurement volume. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained. | ||||
| Replacement reserve | ||||
| Supplemental Reserve up operational | Response type manual Trigger System-operator instruction. | Full activation 6 h | As the source describes it at least 2 h; Available for at least 2 hours | System requirement 400 MW (2026/27) Source wording: 400 MW Bought Annual/medium-term requirement Through bilateral contract; mandatory provision Pricing design Ancillary-service contract/regulated provision |
Full record for Supplemental Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Replace depleted reserves and support longer-duration shortages. What the source says about timing Available within 6 hours Who can provide it Qualified generation and demand-side resources. Checkpoint recap Full activation 6 h · Minimum sustained 2 h | ||||
| Reactive power & voltage | ||||
| Reactive Power / Voltage Control non-directional operational | Response type continuous; automatic local; manual Trigger Voltage-control setpoints and system-operator instruction. | Stated response Equipment- and instruction-specific | As the source describes it Continuous/as required | As stated Network-study-specific Bought Continuous and location-specific Through mandatory provision; bilateral contract Pricing design Regulated/contractual |
Full record for Reactive Power / Voltage Control — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Maintain voltages and reactive-power margins across the transmission system. Who can provide it Qualified generators and reactive compensation resources. | ||||
| Black start & restoration | ||||
| Black Start / Self Start / Unit Islanding operational | Response type post-fault; manual; event-triggered Trigger Restoration plan. | Stated response Facility- and restoration-plan-specific | As the source describes it Restoration-plan-specific | As stated Restoration-plan-specific Bought Contracted by location/restoration need Through bilateral contract; administrative assignment Pricing design Ancillary-service contract |
Full record for Black Start / Self Start / Unit Islanding — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Restore the power system after a blackout through self-starting and islanding-capable resources. Who can provide it Certified self-start and islanding-capable units. | ||||
No. South African electricity supply industry / future SAWEM's capacity/adequacy arrangement: No operational market-wide capacity mechanism. Responsibility sits with Department of Electricity and Energy / NTCSA / NERSA.
not operational
Adequacy is currently addressed through central planning, regulated procurement and bilateral/IPP programmes. The future SAWEM design is not an already-operational capacity market.
other
Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0, rendered here with wording edited for readability). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.
The markets index holds the full set. For what the grid demands of a battery here, see the grid-code ride-through atlas.