By: Green Building Africa

In a video posted on X, President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa’s Just Energy Transition is gathering momentum as renewable energy investment creates new opportunities, and the country works to secure reliable and affordable electricity. Addressing the SEIFSA Business Breakfast in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, he pointed to reforms underway in the electricity sector, including the establishment of a competitive wholesale electricity market and the expansion of transmission capacity to support new generation.

“We will undertake this restructuring carefully and responsibly. We will safeguard the financial sustainability of Eskom. We will protect energy security. And we will ensure that workers are treated fairly,” said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa said reforms have already unlocked significant investment in new generation, including more than R100 billion in the Northern Cape. He noted that the restructuring of Eskom’s transmission function is intended to create a more efficient system with fair access for market participants.

In his most recent weekly newsletter, the President said renewable energy is still a smaller part of South Africa’s electricity mix than coal, but growth has accelerated. Citing Statistics South Africa, he said renewable energy made up 2% of locally generated electricity in 2016, rising to 6% in 2021 and 9% in 2024.

South Africa now has close to 16 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, with another 32 GW of projects in the grid connection process and expected to connect by 2030. The spread of rooftop solar has also picked up among households and businesses. Statistics South Africa data show the number of households with solar panels increased by 86% over three years to 675 000 households in 2025.

Ramaphosa said the growth in clean energy investment has been supported by legislative and regulatory reforms, including the removal of the licensing threshold for self-generation and the revival of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. He said attracting clean energy investment is not only vital for South Africa’s climate commitments, but also for inclusive economic growth and job creation. At this year’s South Africa Investment Conference, more than R50 billion in green energy investment commitments were announced.

Government has also published South Africa’s first Energy Infrastructure Investment Prospectus, which sets out a coordinated pipeline of investment ready projects across the electricity value chain. However, Ramaphosa stressed that the Just Energy Transition must do more than replace coal with renewable energy. He said it must protect communities, workers and businesses affected by the shift while creating new economic opportunities and ultimately helping to lower electricity costs for consumers.

He said government is working towards a competitive electricity market where different operators can compete to supply power efficiently and at the lowest possible cost. Cabinet has already approved the publication for public comment of the Revised Electricity Pricing Policy and the draft Electricity Sector Market Transformation Position Paper.

Ramaphosa also said he had received a progress report from the task team working to establish a fully independent state-owned entity responsible for electricity transmission and operation of the electricity market. The challenge now, he said, is to ensure that the benefits of the transition reach the communities and workers that have long supported the country’s energy system. Government, business, labour and civil society will need to work together to make the transition inclusive and to expand economic opportunity.

The goal, Ramaphosa said, should be a transition that leaves communities stronger while delivering secure, reliable and affordable electricity for South Africans now and in the future.