South Africa Suffers from a Deficit of About 4,000 MW of Electricity (President)

Johannesburg – South Africa is suffering from a deficit of about 4,000 MW in terms of electricity supply, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday at the 4th South African Investment Conference (SAIC).

“No economy can function without a reliable supply of electricity,” Mr. Ramaphosa said, noting that “even though South Africa continues to experience intermittent load shedding, we are trying to bring new generation capacity online in the shortest time possible”.

“We are moving forward to foster a competitive power generation market through the establishment of an independent public transmission company. The government is working with the private sector to accelerate investment and unlock the country’s energy potential”, he argued.

He recalled, in this sense, that the government had approved in 2021 a law allowing to increase, from 1 MW to 100 MW, the ceiling of the production of electricity without the need for a license, with the aim to encourage private producers to contribute to the country’s energy supply.