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Green energy features prominently at 2026 investment gathering

Investment commitments by South African and international renewables investors featured prominently at the sixth South Africa Investment Conference, with combined pledges of more than R50-billion announced. In addition, green energy also featured strongly in an energy-related investment prospectus released by government at the event, where a new R2-trillion investment target was set for the period to 2030.
April 1, 2026 by

Government aims to move with speed on private investments for development

During the South Africa Investment Conference on March 31, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson spoke about how the government was supporting greater investment by private-sector players in the economy. Godongwana emphasised that a reliance on monopolies in an economy meant that, if there was a problem with a monopoly, the entire sector it served was challenged.
April 1, 2026 by

Ramaphosa highlights the investment prospects being unlocked by ‘irreversible’ reforms

President Cyril Ramaphosa used the 2026 edition of the South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC) to highlight the new prospects being opened to domestic and foreign investors by the country’s ongoing economic reforms, which he described as “irreversible”. The sixth edition of the SAIC drew 1 200 delegates from 50 countries and is the first such gathering to be hosted since 2023, as well as the first since the formation of the multi-party Government of National Unity, which Ramaphosa leads.
March 31, 2026 by

Necsa launches an expression of interest into Small Modular Reactor technologies

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) issued, on Tuesday, an expression of interest (EoI), to invite technology providers, organisations and consortia, with the appropriate qualifications and experience, to partner in a Small Modular (nuclear) Reactor (SMR) programme in South Africa. Such a partnership will develop, customise, demonstrate and deploy SMRs in the country, for a number of purposes. This initiative is aligned with Decision 4 of the national Integrated Resources Plan …
March 31, 2026 by

Optimistic of ‘workable’ tariff solution, Glencore Merafe agrees to week-long Section 189 …

The Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture has agreed to again delay a retrenchment process under way at its ferrochrome smelters after Eskom formally requested an extension to conclude internal governance processes relating to a proposed 62c/kWh electricity tariff offer to the South African ferrochrome industry. In a statement, Glencore Merafe, which earlier sent a counter proposal to what it described as “unworkable” conditions linked to Eskom’s initial offer, welcomed the progress being made and said it remained confident that a balanced and workable solution could be reached.
March 31, 2026 by

Botswana Minerals starts work on copper licences

Development finance institutions (DFIs) the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have formed a partnership to collaborate on the development, financing and implementation of energy security projects within special economic zones (SEZs). Energy security within SEZs contributes to greater competitiveness by ensuring that industries are able to thrive without disruption, as SEZs attract significant investments, contribute to creating employment opportunities and are key drivers of economic growth.
March 31, 2026 by

Registration fees for rooftop solar systems waived for a further six months – Eskom

State-owned power utility Eskom has extended the waiver of the registration fees for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) systems, such as rooftop solar power installations, for a further six months to end September 2026. All registration and connection fees – up to R10 000 for urban or residential customers and up to R36 000 for rural customers – are waived until September 30, 2026, for Eskom customers’ SSEG systems up to 50 kW.
March 31, 2026 by

Disconnect between power generation, delivery growing – report

While State-owned Eskom on March 13 said it had achieved more than 300 consecutive days without needing to implement loadshedding, a milestone reflecting a real and hard-won recovery in generation performance, a new national dataset indicates that, while loadshedding has receded, the lived experience of unreliable power has not. The ‘Wetility 2025 Energy Resilience Report’, based on real-time telemetry from a national network of solar and battery systems, recorded 91 934 unique grid power outages across South Africa in 2025.
March 31, 2026 by

Launch of SAWEM delayed, but NTCSA says preparations are well advanced

The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has confirmed that the target date of April 1, 2026, for the launch of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) will not be met, and has announced that the launch has been delayed to the third quarter of 2026. The delay is not unexpected, and followed an assessment undertaken with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and industry participants, where it was concluded that additional work was required to ensure that all market, operational and regulatory requirements were fully in place ahead of the launch.
March 31, 2026 by

Energy Council says ‘phased transition’ to State-owned TSO needed to mitigate risks

The Energy Council of South Africa has reiterated its support for the creation of an independent, State-owned Transmission System Operator (TSO), but has also called for a “phased transition” to mitigate the commercial and fiscal risks associated with Eskom’s unbundling. In a statement issued on behalf of the council’s board, which is chaired by Sasol’s Simon Baloyi, the council welcomed the creation by President Cyril Ramaphosa of a task team to develop an implementation roadmap for an independent TSO that would also own the transmission assets. 
March 31, 2026 by