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Independent transmission company ‘one of most important reforms in country’s history’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the move to establish a fully independent State-owned transmission company as “one of the most important reforms in our country’s history”, while confirming the composition of the dedicated task team he has established to clarify the implementation and timing of its establishment. In his response to the debate on his State of the Nation Address (SoNA), the President also emphasised the complexity of the initiative, which he said required detailed technical work and strong coordination across different entities.
February 19, 2026 by

Global green hydrogen production is set to surge, forecasts global analytics group

Global production of green hydrogen has started to surge, driven mainly by major policy initiatives in North America, UK-based international data analytics and consultancy group GlobalData has reported. Production of low-carbon hydrogen in general has been largely flat, or grown only slowly, for years, it pointed out. But acceleration started a couple of years ago. Global production of all forms of low-carbon hydrogen had reached 0.84-million tons a year in 2024. Total global low-carbon production capacity in that year had amounted to 1.7-million tons a year. The consultancy forecast, in its ‘Low-Carbon Hydrogen Market Report, Update 2025 – Global Market Outlook, Trends, and Key Country Analysis’, that, by 2030, global low-carbon hydrogen production would hit 42-million tons a year in the low case scenario, or 65.3-million tons a year in the high case scenario.
February 19, 2026 by

South Africa part of broader shift in acceleration of domestic solar panel production

Countries around the world are accelerating investment in domestic solar panel production capacity to strengthen energy security and industrial resilience, and South Africa is part of that broader shift, with new local manufacturing capacity contributing to a more diversified and reliable solar supply ecosystem, says South African solar panel manufacturer Ener-G-Africa. The Africa Solar Industry Association ‘Africa Solar Outlook 2026’ report found that Africa is the fastest-growing solar market globally. As the market matures, there is a growing need for consistency, quality, accountability and service.
February 19, 2026 by

Trader-led wheeling to play big role S Africa’s renewable power market in 2026

South Africa’s renewable-energy market is entering a decisive new phase in 2026, shaped by electricity reform, tightening grid capacity and changing project economics — with trader-led wheeling models rapidly emerging as the principal commercial structure for large power users. This is the view of Discovery Green CEO Andre Nepgen, who highlights that procurement strategy is now as important as price in securing long-term energy resilience. “Electricity reform is moving from policy design into practical implementation, bringing clearer governance structures and participation rules,” he notes.
February 19, 2026 by

NUM calls for urgent talks with Necom on Eskom unbundling following SoNA directive

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for urgent and structured consultations between organised labour and the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) task team that is deliberating on the transfer of Eskom’s transmission assets to an independent Transmission System Operator (TSO). In his State of the Nation Address (SoNA), President Cyril Ramaphosa gave the task team three months to report back to him on the restructuring process, including clear time frames for its phased implementation.
February 18, 2026 by

Report labels unbundling of Eskom as ‘most important economic reform since 1994′

A new report commissioned by the South African Energy Traders Association (SAETA) identifies the unbundling of Eskom Holdings as the most important economic reform since 1994, arguing that a new competitive electricity sector construct is required to attract the capital needed to deliver security of supply and affordability. Titled ‘Policy to power: 10 actions to deliver green, accessible and secure electricity’ the SAETA report has been produced by research and consulting firm Krutham. SAETA itself represents electricity traders and its members include Africa GreenCo, Apollo, Discovery Green, Enpower Trading, Envusa, Etana, EXSA, Investec, Lyra Energy, Mainstream, NOA, POWERX and Sturdee Energy.
February 17, 2026 by

Blu Label subsidiary granted energy trading licence

Renewable energy company BluEnergy Trading – a subsidiary of JSE-listed Blu Label Unlimited – has been granted a multi-year energy trading licence by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. BluEnergy will focus on aggressively building out its project pipeline, operationalising trading activities in line with its mandate to support South Africa’s transition to a more resilient, decentralised and sustainable power system.
February 17, 2026 by

Lyra Energy signs private offtaker agreements for inaugural 255 MW solar PV project

Electricity trader Lyra Energy reports that it has entered into power purchase agreements with three private offtakers that will buy a large portion of the electricity to be produced from its 255 MW Thakadu solar PV project. The Thakadu project is the first project to be implemented in South Africa by Lyra, which is a partnership between independent power producer Scatec, which owns 50% of the trading platform, as well as Standard Bank and Stanlib.
February 16, 2026 by

Opinion: Does South Africa have a future without power cuts? Ramaphosa intervenes, but the …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his 2026 State of the Nation address, announced that the country’s electricity transmission assets would move out of State-owned Eskom. This will happen once the newly established National Transmission Company of South Africa is unbundled into a fully independent company. This is not the first time Ramaphosa has used his State of the Nation address to keep South Africa’s electricity reforms on track. In 2021, he raised the cap on private power generation from 1MW to 100MW. Minister Gwede Mantashe at the time admitted that the president had “twisted his arm”.
February 16, 2026 by