Nersa proposes five-year ban on automated electricity trading

South African energy regulator Nersa has proposed barring fully automated algorithmic trading from the new wholesale electricity market Sawem for its first five years. The 87-page draft framework is open for public comment until 31 October, with the market launch now pushed to April 2027.

• Ban would cover the period from commercial launch to five years
• Platform must be available 99.9% of trading-window time
• Annual independent penetration testing and five-year data retention required
• Market launch slipped from April 2026 to April 2027