Only about 57% of the people in Africa have access to electricity, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. To meet the United Nations goal of everyone having access to affordable electricity by 2030, African countries will need to rapidly expand electricity generation. However, generating more electricity will have an effect on available water…
Sandton, the economic hub of Johannesburg – and South Africa South Africa cannot afford for Johannesburg to fail, and the city’s electricity supply is now genuinely at risk. The R5.3-billion debt that the city owes to Eskom is not being resolved in a sustainable way, and the consequences became more concrete last week. Eskom granted…
STORY HIGHLIGHTS Malawi used to have one of the lowest electrification rates in the world, at just 11% in 2019. Thanks to the World Bank-backed Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP) and to Mission 300, that rate now stands at 25.9%, and should reach 70% by 2030. Electricity is bringing visible change to local economies, inspiring…
Botswana has not cut off electricity supply or closed borders amid anti-migrant action in South Africa IN SHORT: As anti-migrant demonstrations continue to shake South Africa in May 2026, claims about neighbouring Botswana taking action are circulating online. But there is no evidence the country has closed borders or cut off electricity supply to South…
Low-emissions energy sources met all new global electricity demand for the first time last year, leaving no room for fossil fuels to grow, the energy think tank Ember has found. Solar power led the charge, meeting three-quarters of the 849 TWh in new demand. Wind power met almost all the rest. Recommended Stories list of…
The World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, and The Rockefeller Foundation launched a new Mission 300 Private Sector Council to mobilize the billions in private investment needed to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030 while unlocking job creation across the continent. Fourteen leaders from diverse sectors will help drive strategies to crowd…
The launch of South Africa’s wholesale electricity market has been pushed back from 1 April to the third quarter of 2026, the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) said on Thursday. The NTCSA said “additional work” is required to ensure that all market, operational and regulatory requirements are in place, but in a statement on…
In a strategic move to secure its energy future, the City of Cape Town has officially issued a tender seeking proposals from private electricity traders. The initiative aims to establish a formal panel of suppliers to help power South Africa’s second-largest city, marking a significant departure from traditional procurement methods. Read: Samsung confirms the Galaxy…
South Africa has committed to reaching phasing out human-caused carbon pollution by 2050. To get there, it needs to push as much renewable energy as possible into the national grid. The country is the world’s 15th largest carbon polluter. It’s one of only a handful of countries still heavily dependent on burning coal to generate…
Vehicle-to-grid helps balance grid demand, supports renewables and can generate income. (Image created using GenAI via ChatGPT) A new study suggests that widespread adoption of vehicle-to-anything (V2X) electric vehicles (EVs) could double as home energy assets, helping South African households save on fuel and electricity. The research shows that combining EVs with rooftop solar not…
