African Energy Chamber: South African energy situation “economically challenging”

(WO) – The African Energy Chamber (AEC), serving as the voice of the African energy sector, has officially launched its South Africa-focused market report, providing a comprehensive overview of the state of play of the country’s energy sector.

Serving to guide investors and project developers interested in South Africa’s immense opportunities, the report details the current challenges and upcoming opportunities across the power generation, renewable and hydrocarbon markets.

Currently, the South African energy situation represents an economically challenging one, with the report identifying that the year 2022 witnessed new electricity outage records, with an over 300% increase in outage hours compared to 2021.

As per the latest updates, the country experiences between 4.5 and 6 hours of load shedding per day, with the average load shedding stage being Stage 3 (allowing for 3 GW of the national load to be shed with outages implemented 18 hours over a four-day period) or Stage 4 (allowing for 4 GW to be shed with outages implemented 24 hours). However, advances across the power generation sector aim to turn this trend around.

According to the report, coal remains the predominant source of energy in the country, with industry representing the lion’s share of consumption at 54% in 2022 and projected to reach 55% in 2025, falling to 50% in 2030. In the long-term, the report identifies solar, wind, natural gas and nuclear to drive supply, while steady industrial and residential demand is expected.

On the funding side, the report emphasizes that electricity will remain the prime focus with majority of financing required from the private sector. With up to $43.2 billion in power infrastructure needs between 2023 and 2027, opportunities for investors are immense.