The Signed Foundation for a No-Cost Peer-to-Peer Wheeling Pilot
A Memorandum of Understanding between Standard Bank South Africa and UTCS for a Phase 1 no-cost simulation of municipal peer-to-peer energy wheeling under Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act. The municipality is the enabling energy partner.
MoU at a Glance
Between
Standard Bank South Africa & UTCS
PPB · BCB · Regulatory & Advocacy · GRES
Phase
Phase 1 — No-Cost Simulation Pilot
Schedule 2, Electricity Regulation Act
Duration
8–12 weeks
Terminable on written notice
Signed
Manessah Alagbaoso
Head: Business Ecosystems & Sustainability, BCB · 03 August 2026
Non-Binding
Guides collaboration during the no-cost phase — creates no legal or commercial obligation.
Phase 1 Duration
Expected to run 8–12 weeks; either party may terminate on written notice, with no fees or penalties.
Cost
UTCS carries all implementation cost for Phase 1 — revisited before any subsequent phase.
Exclusivity
Standard Bank supports granting Phase 1 exclusivity to UTCS given the proprietary platform introduced.
Intellectual Property
All UTCS IP, methodologies, platform logic and municipal process designs remain UTCS property.
Confidentiality
POPIA-aligned. Customer-specific data is not shared outside Standard Bank frameworks.
Background & Strategic Intent
UTCS has proposed a phased activation model for residential and business-sector P2P energy trading, starting with a zero-cost simulation that leverages existing UTCS systems and Standard Bank's customer base and internal assets. Standard Bank's strategic interest spans:
Strengthen sustainable practices, community energy access, social protection benefits and CSI outcomes.
Support financed-emissions reduction across the home loan and commercial property portfolio.
Understand municipal billing, wheeling logic and financial modelling to inform future commercial design.
Enable loan financing for solar installations across personal and business customers.
Unlock Non-Interest Revenue (NIR) opportunities.
Phase 1 Joint Objectives
Simulate the P2P Municipal Wheeling Concept
Demonstrate the end-to-end operational model without cost — metering, billing logic, data flows and role-play across customer types.
Identify Commercial, Social & Climate Value Pools
Evaluate potential benefits for Standard Bank customers, Standard Bank business lines, municipal partners and UTCS.
Clarify Roles & Contractual Constructs
Establish whether Standard Bank, UTCS or a consortium acts as the aggregator or contractual counterparty in future phases.
Co-develop a Scalable, Multi-Municipal Blueprint
UTCS indicated access to multiple municipalities for scaling — Phase 1 tests how this could unfold.
Prepare for a Future Collaboration / Commercial Agreement
The output of Phase 1 informs a structured Phase 2 and potential scaled deployment.
Scope of the Phase 1 Simulation
Included
Representative participants
- Standard Bank home loan customers in Graaff-Reinet
- Standard Bank branches in the municipality (GRES)
- Possible BCB customers with solar installations
UTCS capabilities simulated
- Metering and bidirectional data flows
- Virtual wheeling logic and billing integration layers
- Time-of-use, credit creation and reconciliation
- Municipal revenue-neutrality modelling
Financial modelling scenarios
- Generator vs net consumer vs pure generator status
- Surplus credit behaviour and year-end reset
- Price evolution, tariff spread and CPI impacts
Standard Bank value propositions
- Solar financing design
- VAS / NIR (prepaid electricity sales, rebates)
- Community energy donation mechanisms
- Climate benefits (financed emissions)
Collaboration blueprint documentation
- Customer journeys
- Data flows
- Billing integration requirements
- Operational responsibilities across parties
Not Included
- No-cost infrastructure deployment — one UTCS demonstration installation may be used for simulation only.
- No software development funded by Standard Bank.
- No commitments to Phase 2 or commercial rollout.
- No contractual commitments to customers or municipalities.
Roles & Responsibilities
Responsibilities as defined in the MoU — UTCS as platform and implementation partner, Standard Bank across three business lines, and jointly held decisions.
UTCS
Platform & implementation partner
- Provide the technical platform, metering methodology and simulation environment.
- Demonstrate P2P trading mechanics, billing integration architecture and Auditor-General compliance logic.
- Prove time-of-trade and reconciliation rules; supply assumptions, documentation and modelling inputs.
- Provide access to technical expertise and municipal relationships; contribute to the blueprint.
Standard Bank — PPB
Personal & Private Banking
- Identify home loan customers for simulation.
- Define PPB objectives — NIR, lending and customer engagement.
- Provide requirements for prepaid / postpaid electricity integration (SB app services).
Standard Bank — BCB
Business & Commercial Banking
- Identify commercial customers with solar for conceptual modelling.
- Explore business-sector wheeling use cases and financing models.
Standard Bank — GRES
Group Real Estate Services
- Provide branch profiles as potential offtakers in the simulation.
- Assess emissions-reduction impact for Standard Bank's property portfolio.
Joint
All parties
- Define roles for aggregation, contracting with municipalities, customer onboarding and billing / reconciliation.
- Jointly agree the evaluation criteria for progressing to Phase 2.
Simulation Flow & Success Criteria
A closed-loop simulation on real meter data, ending in a clear Go / Refine / Stop decision.
Evaluation criteria for progressing to Phase 2
Technical
Accurate meter data and reconciliation
Financial
Transparent value calculation
Regulatory
No unresolved fatal compliance condition
Customer
Clear and understandable benefit
Bank
Credible participative role
Municipality
Positive financial / developmental case
Scalability
Repeatable architecture
Governance During Phase 1
Steering Group
Meeting cadence
Fortnightly check-ins + monthly Steering Group review
Workstreams
- Technical & IntegrationUTCS + GRES
- Customer & CommercialPPB
- Business Customer ModellingBCB
- Legal & ProcurementStandard Bank
- Social Impact / CSI FrameworkPPB + Group CSI
Expected Outcomes
Benefits to Standard Bank
- Blueprint for a national residential P2P wheeling model.
- Pathway for clean-energy innovation, including community energy donation models.
- Understanding of billing integration and operational realities, including revenue neutrality.
- New climate-positive value stream via reduced financed emissions.
- Customer acquisition and retention differentiation in solar / energy offerings.
- Strategic clarity on commercial viability — loans + NIR + VAS.
Benefits to UTCS
- Validation of the UTCS wheeling model with a major national bank.
- Demonstrate platform capability in a structured, multi-stakeholder environment.
- Potential pathway to scaled commercial deployment in later phases.
- Strengthened credibility with municipalities through Standard Bank collaboration.
- Deeper understanding of banking-sector needs, enabling tailored design.
- A marketable blueprint for other municipalities and financial institutions.
Phase 1 Principles & Terms
Exclusivity
Given the proprietary UTCS platform, methodologies, billing logic and municipal relationships introduced, Standard Bank supports granting Phase 1 exclusivity to UTCS.
Cost
As Phase 1 validates operational, technical and commercial assumptions for Standard Bank, UTCS carries all implementation cost — revisited before any subsequent phase.
Intellectual Property
All UTCS IP, methodologies, platform logic and municipal process designs remain the sole property of UTCS unless otherwise agreed in future written commercial agreements.
Confidentiality & Data
Information exchanged in Phase 1 is confidential and used only to evaluate viability. Customer-specific data is not shared unless covered by Standard Bank's POPIA-aligned frameworks.
Duration & Termination
Phase 1 is expected to run 8–12 weeks. Either party may terminate on written notice, with no fees, penalties or obligations resulting.
Non-Binding Nature
This MoU is not a commercial contract and creates no legal obligations. Binding cooperation, consortium or commercial contracts may be drafted after Phase 1.
For Standard Bank South Africa
Manessah Alagbaoso
Head: Business Ecosystems & Sustainability, BCB
Signed 03 August 2026
For UTCS
Signature pending
Name & title to be confirmed
Date to be confirmed