While the Minerals Council South Africa lauds Eskom for having maintained an average energy availability factor of 68.5% through February, which is above the 68% target set out in the Integrated Resources Plan 2025, the industry body is concerned about the utility’s tariff methodology and other cost factors that affect the sustainability of the Eskom system. South Africa’s global competitiveness is directly impacted by electricity pricing dynamics, says Minerals Council economist André Lourens.
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Southern Africa remains one of the world’s most climate vulnerable regions, pointed out Zimbabwean Energy and Power Development Deputy Minister Yeukai Simbanegavi at the recent Africa Energy Indaba 2026, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. She was participating in a panel discussion. The importance of implementing the energy goals of last year’s COP 30 climate summit, and of the G20 Summit held in South Africa, could not be overemphasised, she said. Zimbabwe had its Vision 2030 initiative, which acknowledged energy as a key enabler of economic transformation. She also cited the national objective of increasing access to clean cooking technologies to 70% by 2030, from the current 38%.
Leading South African independent power producer Anthem has announced that its giant 475 MWac (620 MWdc) Notsi solar PV project in the Free State has advanced to financial close after concluding private offtake agreements with electricity traders Discovery Green and NOA Group. The R9-billion transaction has been supported by a consortium of lenders, including Standard Bank, Nedbank, ABSA and Vantage GreenX Note.
With arrear debt owing to Eskom by municipalities having breached R110-billion, the State-owned company has announced that credit control processes could be initiated against 14 municipalities that may result in electricity supply being disrupted to customers in those areas. In a statement, Eskom announced that it had begun the process of issuing notices in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) to provide an opportunity for affected parties to make representations before further action was taken.
More than $50-billion has been committed to an ambitious plan to halve the number of people without access to electricity in Africa, according to the World Bank, its biggest backer. The programme, named Mission 300 because of its goal to bring electricity to 300-million people by 2030, has delivered power to 44-million people since it was officially announced at a conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in January last year.
South Africa’s electricity market is evolving rapidly, shaped by a convergence of policy shifts, technological advances and growing global trade requirements. Yet, a persistent challenge is understanding the role of electricity traders within the energy market – what they do, why they exist and how they underpin both investment and competitiveness in the electricity sector, electricity trader Apollo Africa CEO Nico de Bruyn writes.
Africa had an energy deficit, highlighted African Union (AU) Commissioner for Infrastructure Lerato Mataboge, on Wednesday. She was addressing the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. “Energy is the foundation upon which modern economies are built,” she pointed out. Without reliable energy, industrialisation was elusive, and the future of young Africans was bleak.
South Africa is seeking to expand its electricity transmission grid, which wis a R450-billion challenge, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his keynote address at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on March 4. “The main focus in our country has really been the energy landscape and the reform thereof,” he told the assembled delegates. “Electricity is an absolute necessity in the lives of all South Africans. Today, 93% of South African households have electricity.”
The pledges agreed at the COP 30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, last year, brought real opportunities for Africa, emphasised UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) programme manager Karin Reiss. She was speaking in a panel discussion at Africa Energy Indaba 2026, being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on Tuesday. (Key COP 30 outcomes were agreements to triple climate adaptation finance by 2035; establish a Just Transition Mechanism to support fairness in moving to a green economy; and the adoption of 59 global indicators to track progress in adaptation.)
South African Electicity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has highlighted the current global upheavals and what they mean for African energy in his welcoming address at Africa Energy Indaba 2026, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on Tuesday. “The global order, as we have known it for decades, is recalibrating in real time,” he pointed out. “Energy sits at the epicentre of this reordering. Electricity has become sovereignty expressed in electrons.”
INDUSTRY NEWS
- Minerals Council suggests tariff methodology, costs as next focus for EskomMarch 6, 2026 - 5:04 pm
- Clean energy transition provides opportunities for Africa but needs cooperation, moneyMarch 6, 2026 - 12:04 pm
- Anthem moves ahead with giant Free State PV project following offtake deals with two tradersMarch 6, 2026 - 11:04 am
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