As South Africa’s electricity market shifts into competitive mode, 2026 may be a year of deal-making and portfolio realignment across the energy value chain, states law firm Webber Wentzel. The firm expects to see increased activity in mergers, acquisitions and strategic joint ventures as international investors and regional platforms look for scalable entry points.
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Infrastructure as an asset class plays a dual role in building the economy by reducing the costs of doing business and by directly contributing to the economy. For South African businesses to grow and thereby grow the economy, the country must reduce the cost of doing business, and infrastructure plays a role in achieving this, said Finance Deputy Minister Dr David Masondo on March 19, in Westcliff, Johannesburg.
The National Treasury has officially launched a R54-billion performance-based grant in a bid to increase investments in water, sanitation, electricity and waste infrastructure services by the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities, or metros. Known as the Metro Trading Services Reform, the performance-linked incentive aims to mobilise more than R100-billion in infrastructure investment over the coming six years, with recipient municipalities required to match the infrastructure grants with their own revenues and borrowings.
In this article, EE Business Intelligence MD Chris Yelland writes that a legal dispute now before the courts highlights a rapidly emerging fault line in South Africa’s energy transition: intensifying competition among renewable energy developers for scarce grid connection capacity.
The Mooi Plaats solar photovoltaic project has begun commercial operation. The project supports 240 MW of green energy to the South African platinum, diamond and iron-mines. This achievement is described as marking another advancement in the growing portfolio of renewable assets in South Africa of Envusa Energy, a venture owned jointly by Anglo American and Electricité de France Renewables (EDF) power solutions.
Eskom has offered labour groups an annual wage increase of as much as 6.5% in a fourth round of negotiations that have dragged on for months. The State-owned power utility tabled a three-year deal that include a basic salary increase of 6.5% in July, another 6.5% next year and 6% in 2028, according to a copy of the offer that was confirmed by Eskom. There are also additional increases to the housing benefit and funeral cover.
Anthem CEO James Cumming says there is a “high probability” of a battery energy storage system (BESS) being integrated into its massive 475 MWac (620 MWdc) Notsi solar PV project in the Free State, with the site having already been permitted to include BESS. The South African independent power producer started construction on the R9-billion project in March following financial close, which was concluded on the back of 20-year-plus offtake agreements with electricity traders Discovery Green and NOA.
Eskom will start implementing a tariff increase of 8.76% from April 1, as approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for the 2026/27 financial year.
This tariff adjustment will apply for customers supplied directly by Eskom.
Netherlands-headquartered tank storage and terminal operator Vopak’s local subsidiary, Vopak South Africa, together with Transnet Pipelines, on March 13 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ), committing to advance gas development in the province.
The MoU comes as Vopak South Africa and Transnet Pipelines finalise commercial agreements and contractor appointments ahead of a final investment decision on the Zululand Energy Terminal (ZET) at the Port of Richards Bay, which will mark South Africa’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.
Diversified miner South32 has placed its 63.7%-owned Mozal aluminium smelter on care and maintenance, with effect from March 15, after it was unable to secure an affordable power supply agreement for the operation with the Mozambique government, South African power utility Eskom and other stakeholders beyond March. South32 CEO Graham Kerr points out that the company had been in discussions with the various stakeholders for six years.
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