Solarplaza Summit RE Trading Southern Africa

Wednesday 2 December 2026

08:30

Registration & welcome coffee

09:15

Opening words

presentation

15 min.

Edwin Koot

Solarplaza

Session 1

Market outlook

09:30

Powering a new era: The forces reshaping Southern Africa's electricity markets

presentation

20 min.

Gain a strategic overview of the dynamic forces reshaping the Southern African electricity landscape, from the surge in renewable growth to the evolving impact of regional power trading and market liberalization.

Renewable resources, rising electricity demand, and regional cooperation as foundations for a new energy economy
Opportunities and emerging risks for utilities, traders, developers, investors, and corporate energy buyers
Renewable energy growth, market liberalization, and the rise of cross-border power trading

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Ana Hajduka

Africa GreenCo

Ana Hajduka

Founder & CEO

Africa GreenCo

Ana Hajduka, Founder and CEO of Africa GreenCo, is qualified as a lawyer in both England & Wales and the State of New York and is an infrastructure and energy professional with more than 20 years' experience in a variety of transactions, including project finance, public-private partnerships, and project development, working on energy and infrastructure projects in emerging markets. Ana trained with Allen & Overy LLP and later worked for Fulbright & Jaworski LLP and Trinity International LLP, advising on a diverse range of energy sector projects, predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ana negotiated and/or was involved in a number of renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa and is an African IPP project finance and PPA risk allocation specialist. Ana also worked in an advisory role for power pools in Africa and is therefore well versed in the opportunities and benefits of regional power trading for risk diversification and power market creation. In March 2015, Ana was appointed by the UNECE as the Team Leader responsible for a Project Team (comprising about 30 specialists) tasked with developing international renewable energy PPP standards as part of the Sustainable Energy for All agenda.

09:50

Understanding SAPP’s power markets: From forward trading to balancing

presentation

20 min.

Demystify SAPP’s trading platforms and unlock practical insights into navigating regional electricity markets - including FPM, DAM, and IDM - to optimize your trading strategies and participation.

How SAPP’s market platforms connect buyers and sellers across the region
Trading opportunities across the FPM, DAM, IDM, and Balancing Market
Latest market developments, liquidity trends, and regulatory changes shaping participation

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Stephen Dihwa

Southern African Power Pool

Stephen Dihwa

Executive Director, SAPP Coordination Centre

Southern African Power Pool

Stephen Dihwa has over 30 years of experience in the power sector. He started with Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) in 1988 and rose through the ranks to Business Development Director of the Transmission subsidiary up to 2007. Worked as System Planning Advisor in EdM (Mozambique) in 2007 and as Senior Manager responsible for Planning and then Renewable Energy & System Integration in NamPower (Namibia) from 2008 to 2012. He worked from 2013 to 2016 as a consultant Power Engineer for the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe. He was Principal Director in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development of Zimbabwe from 2016 to 2017. Joined SAPP in December 2017. In his current role as Executive Director of the SAPP Coordination Centre he oversees the planning of the interconnected grid, operations of the system, environmental management aspects, project preparation and electricity trading. The Coordination Centre acts as the Market Operator of the SAPP competitive electricity market which currently runs month-ahead, week-ahead, day-ahead and intra-day markets. The region covers the 12 mainland Southern African Development Community (SADC) states.

10:10

Utilities at a crossroads: Navigating Southern Africa's market transformation

panel

35 min.

Explore the critical evolution of utilities in a liberalized market, examining how they balance the dual demands of energy security and competitive reform to thrive alongside new private-sector participants.

The evolving role of utilities in increasingly liberalized electricity markets
Balancing affordability, cost reflectivity and competition amid market reform
Opportunities and challenges arising from private sector participation
Expanding participation in regional power markets

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moderator

Cathy Oxby

Africa GreenCo

Roelof van Huyssteen

EXSA

10:45

Morning networking break

Session 2

Prices, revenues and bankability

11:30

SAWEM: The next chapter of electricity trading in Southern Africa

presentation

20 min.

South Africa's Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) will fundamentally reshape how electricity is bought, sold and valued. Supporting South Africa's transition from the historical single-buyer market structure towards a more competitive wholesale electricity market, SAWEM is expected to introduce system marginal pricing, new market segments and greater opportunities for traders, renewable generators, battery storage and corporate buyers. How will this market interact with SAPP, and what will it mean for investment, trading strategies and revenue models across the region?

Understanding SAWEM's market design, including the Day-Ahead, Intraday and Balancing Mechanism, and how they interact with SAPP
How system marginal pricing (SMP), intraday trading and balancing exposure could influence renewable project revenues, battery storage value and electricity trading strategies
The transition towards a competitive wholesale market and its implications for regional power trading, investment and cross-border market integration, including the interaction between SAWEM and SAPP

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Palesa Zwane

NTCSA (National Transmission Company South Africa)

Palesa Zwane

Energy Clearing Operations Manager

NTCSA (National Transmission Company South Africa)

Palesa Zwane is a Middle Manager: Energy Clearing Operations within the Market Operator at the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA). She is part of the team responsible for the operational readiness of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM), focusing on market operations, business processes, and stakeholder preparedness ahead of market go-live. She leads the SAWEM Market School, NTCSA’s national capacity-building programme established to prepare prospective SAWEM Market participants, policymakers, regulators, investors, and financial institutions for participation in the new wholesale electricity market. Palesa has over 20 years of experience in the electricity sector, primarily within Eskom, where she has held roles in pricing and contracts management, customer services, and market-related operations. She holds qualifications in Economics and Business Management and is currently completing a Master of Management in Energy Leadership.

11:50

Where are power prices headed? Market signals for traders, investors, and energy buyers

presentation

20 min.

Decode the complex drivers behind Southern African power prices and understand the revenue implications of market volatility for traders, investors, and corporate buyers in an era of rapid renewable expansion.

Key drivers of electricity price formation across Southern African markets
The impact of renewable energy growth, demand trends, and cross-border trading on price volatility
Revenue implications for traders, generators, storage operators, and energy buyers

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Marc Goldstein

Africa Power Ventures Global

12:10

From energy consumers to market participants, and the emergence of corporate offtakers

panel

35 min.

Learn how mining companies, data centers, and industrial players are revolutionizing energy procurement, and discover how aggregation and corporate PPAs create new value opportunities for renewable developers and traders.

How mining companies, data centers, telecoms, and industrials are transforming electricity procurement
The role of aggregation, traders, and corporate PPAs in enabling market participation
What corporate demand means for renewable developers, utilities, and energy traders

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moderator

Francois Viljoen

Cresco Group

Francois Viljoen

Executive Director

Cresco Group

Francois Viljoen is an Executive Director at Cresco Group with over 28 years’ experience in project finance and infrastructure development. He provides clients with Financial and Transaction Advisory services in the power and infrastructure sectors, supporting projects across the full development and funding lifecycle. His portfolio includes projects utilising a range of technologies including coal-fired, gas-fired, hydro, wind, solar, BESS and cogeneration. He has extensive experience in IPP procurement programmes, PPA negotiation, power wheeling structures, and navigating regulatory and licensing frameworks across South Africa and the broader SADC region, including complex cross-border transactions. Francois is a qualified Chartered Accountant CA(SA) and registered SAICA member. Prior to joining Cresco, he spent 5 years at the IDC and 6 years at Eskom, where he provided financial advisory support to cross-border initiatives and led Export Credit Agency funding processes for Eskom’s build programme. He subsequently joined Eskom’s Project Development Department, where he was responsible for developing and project managing South Africa’s first IPP procurement programmes, including the Pilot National Cogeneration Programme and the Medium-Term Power Purchase Programme.

Bryce Allan

Teraco

Werner van Antwerpen

Growthpoint Properties

Bronwyn Timm

Sola Group

Bronwyn Timm

Business Development Manager

Sola Group

Bronwyn has over 20 years of experience in business development, strategy implementation, stakeholder management, complex reporting and design thinking across a variety of sectors, including solar renewable energy (at SOLA Group), fast moving consumer goods (at AB InBev and SAB), pension and unclaimed benefits (at Robin Hood), and various others. Bronwyn's current role at SOLA Group, as the Business Development Manager involves selling large-scale utility and private wheeling contracts to private sector organisations via Power Purchase Agreements. This included the development and sale of rolling contracts from Project Springbok (150MW PV farm in the Free State) which had 30% unallocated power available from Q3 2025. These shorter and more flexible PPAs have provided opportunities for small to medium size businesses to take advantage of wheeled power via the Eskom grid. Bronwyn is also preparing SOLA for the launch of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market as well as their involvement in the launch of Virtual Wheeling in South Africa.

12:45

Networking lunch break

Session 3

Risks and rewards

14:15

The bankability of merchant-based renewables in Southern Africa

panel

35 min.

Address the core challenges of financing merchant-based renewables, gaining expert perspectives on how to navigate price forecasting and offtake structures to unlock investment and improve asset bankability.

Financing barriers for renewable assets with merchant or partially contracted revenues
How price forecasts, offtake structures, and market liquidity shape financing decisions
Practical pathways to make merchant exposure more acceptable to capital providers

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moderator

Jason van der Poel

Webber Wentzel

Jason van der Poel

Partner

Webber Wentzel

Jason has expertise in all aspects of project finance. He has advised lenders, sponsors and contractors on limited recourse project financings (including energy, oil and gas, resources and infrastructure transactions), public-private partnerships (PPPs), government support, partnerships and joint ventures, construction and operations contracts, power purchase agreements, procurement, syndicated and term loans, bond issues (including municipal debt) and securitisations (domestic and cross-border). Jason’s practice has a focus transactional and regulatory aspects of renewable energy IPP procurements, both by government and in private captive power transactions. His expertise has been recognised by various international research organisations including Chambers Global, IFLR1000, The Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and Best Lawyers. Jason has an LLM (Banking & Finance) from University College London, LLB and B.Bus.Sci degrees from the University of Cape Town and is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa as well as an admitted solicitor in England and Wales. Jason has served on the Board of the South African Wind Energy Association.

Vincenzia Leitich

Standard Bank

Dick Berlijn

Subsolar

14:50

Managing merchant risk: from trading strategies to virtual PPAs

presentation

20 min.

Master the tools of risk management in merchant markets, exploring how virtual PPAs and innovative offtake structures can help you navigate price volatility and share risk effectively.

Managing price volatility, balancing exposure, and revenue uncertainty in merchant markets
The evolving role of traders, aggregators, and corporate buyers in risk sharing
How virtual PPAs and innovative offtake structures can support project bankability

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15:10

Can the grid keep up? Transmission infrastructure, wheeling and regional market integration

panel

35 min.

As renewable deployment accelerates and electricity trading expands across Southern Africa, transmission infrastructure is becoming one of the market's defining constraints. How quickly can the grid evolve to support greater cross-border power flows, wheeling, and regional market integration? This session investigates the implementation of the SAPP Transmission Master Plan, new financing mechanisms for strategic interconnectors, and Eskom's evolving role in enabling fair and efficient access to the transmission network.

Wheeling, transmission access and Eskom's evolving role in enabling electricity trading, corporate power procurement and regional market participation
Managing transmission constraints: how congestion, network access and regulatory reform shape regional power flows, renewable project development and trading strategies
Delivering the SAPP Transmission Master Plan: priority transmission upgrades, the RTIF initiative and investment in cross-border interconnectors

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moderator

Farid Mohamed

Pipal

Farid Mohamed

Director

Pipal

Farid Mohamed has 35 years of project financing experience working with both public and private sector clients in Europe and, for the past 30 years, in Africa. He has detailed knowledge of structuring multi-currency project financing for new projects and for privatized institutions using a wide range of debt and equity instruments, including interest rate and currency swaps and options, export credit finance, commercial bank debt, and mezzanine finance, and with a wide range of investors: development finance banks, bilateral and multilateral agencies, commercial banks, private equity funds. Prior to that Farid spent 10 years conceptualising, designing and installing offshore oil and gas production facilities in the North Sea, one of the most challenging environments in the world. Farid has worked as a consultant with the African Development Bank leading energy project finance mandates. And more recently was the Chief Transactions Advisor for the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), with responsibilities for arranging financing for new interconnector transmission lines and power projects under development by SAPP, and for developing a funding platform for regional transmission projects.

Alison Chikova

Southern African Power Pool

Emmanuel Chilombo Kalenga

Enterprise Power

15:45

Afternoon networking break

Session 4

Future of trading

16:30

Trading with better intelligence: data, AI & market transparency

presentation

20 min.

As electricity trading becomes increasingly data-driven, market participants need more than market access; they need timely, reliable information and better forecasting. This session examines how market data, digital platforms such as the SAPP Market Data Portal, and AI-powered analytics are improving trading decisions, increasing market transparency, and supporting the development of a more efficient and liquid regional electricity market.

Leveraging transparent market data and platforms such as the SAPP Market Data Portal to strengthen price discovery and market confidence
How AI, forecasting and digital trading tools are improving trading strategies, portfolio optimisation and risk management
Building the digital infrastructure needed to support more efficient, transparent and integrated regional electricity markets

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16:50

What’s next? The road ahead to new trading markets (financial, ancillary, RECs, carbon market)

panel

35 min.

Look ahead to the next phase of market evolution by diving into emerging revenue streams from financial contracts/markets, ancillary services, RECs, and carbon markets to future-proof your trading strategy.

Emerging revenue opportunities from financial contracts/markets, ancillary services, RECs, and carbon markets
The market design, regulation, and infrastructure needed to unlock new trading products
How traders, utilities, IPPs, and corporate buyers can prepare for the next phase of market evolution

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moderator

Hans-Arild Bredesen

Bredesen Consulting

Hans-Arild Bredesen

CEO

Bredesen Consulting

Hans-Arild has extensive international experience from various power market design and trading arrangements since 1992 where he was involved in developing the first market systems at Nord Pool. Hans- Arild has been working supporting the power industry with consultancy, advice, implementation and IT services connected to the establishment, design, regulations, implementation and operation of both national and regional power markets in more than 20 countries/regions stretching from the Nordics and Europe to California, China and Japan via India and the Gulf region to Eastern and Southern Africa. He has been one of the key partners in the development of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and has been closely involved in the evolution of the SAPP markets for the last two decades. In the recent years, Hans-Arild is working with EAPP where he was the project manager for their market design as well as a project on capacity building and now their implementation of the market itself. He is currently supporting national market reforms in South Africa, Zambia and Kenya. He has been working on the national market reforms in India and China as well as supporting regional initiatives in ASEAN. Hans-Arild is the CEO of Bredesen Consulting as well as a board member at International Centre for Hydropower and a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town.