Feedback report on the short term energy market of the Southern African power pool as presented to the 2004 general meeting

At the 2004 general meeting of the Power Engineering Society held in Denver, Colorado, the Southern African power pool shared innovative developments in the establishment of a short-term energy market for the members of the Southern African Development Community. With few participating members, the initial trading results were encouraging and impressive. With continued trading to date, an update is provided on results achieved, the challenges and experiences encountered and the plans for enhancement. With technical support from Nordpool, a new spot market platform is under construction. The case of the Southern African power pool clearly demonstrates the maturity of the participating countries in sharing and protecting natural resources beyond just the needs and requirements of individual countries. This has a positive contribution to the accelerating impacts from climate change and global warming. The co-operative pool model with competitive trading platforms offers a new arrangement for the electricity supply industry and contributes to lower cost of energy delivered to customers