The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) says it will have a significant presence at this year’s Windaba conference, which will be held in Cape Town on October 6 and 7, where it will be placing transmission expansion, grid access, electricity market reform and practical industry solutions at the centre of discussions about South Africa’s evolving energy system.

The NTCSA will serve as a strategic partner to Windaba for the second consecutive year. It says this places importance on continued engagement with the wind industry as it advances one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure programmes.

Led by CEO Monde Bala, the NTCSA delegation is set to contribute to several high-level and technical engagements examining the infrastructure, market mechanisms and institutional coordination required to connect new generation capacity and strengthen the national grid.

Some of the key areas of engagement at this year’s Windaba will include the NTCSA’s vision for the transmission system towards 2035, progress in implementing the Transmission Development Plan, the role of independent transmission projects, transmission requirements for a secure and flexible future energy system and the clearing of the payment backlog and future deemed energy claims.

The programme will also examine the role of the newly established Grid Access Unit and the practical interventions being implemented to strengthen coordination and alignment with Eskom Generation.

Over the forthcoming decade, the NTCSA says that it plans to construct about 14 500 km of high-voltage transmission lines and install 133 000 MVA of transformer capacity, representing an estimated investment requirement of R440-billion.

Given the scale and urgency of the transmission build, the company adds that mobilising private capital, strengthening public-private collaboration and developing viable investment and delivery models will be critical to accelerating implementation.

“The funding gap should therefore be viewed not only as a constraint, but as a significant infrastructure investment opportunity.

“Investors, financiers, developers and other market participants can support the NTCSA by contributing capital, expertise and delivery capacity, including through independent transmission projects and other collaborative mechanisms,” Bala says.

He adds that the pace of transmission delivery will determine how quickly projects can connect to the grid, particularly in provinces with strong wind resources.

NTCSA says its participation at Windaba 2026 for the second consecutive year comes at a pivotal point for the electricity sector and that grid constraints remain one of the most significant barriers to bringing new renewable-energy projects online, particularly in regions with strong wind resources.