South Africa is at a pivotal moment in electricity reform. After more than a century of monopoly control, the country is moving towards a multi-market electricity model designed to unlock the investment needed to deliver a least-cost, resilient power system – one that can support rapid economic growth while creating increased competitiveness through lower energy tariffs. South Africa’s electricity reforms build on the president’s Energy Action Plan (EAP) of July 2022, which linked urgent load shedding relief to deeper structural reform. This report is designed to step back and consider the vision of the EAP and what is now required to achieve it.

While this resource speaks primarily to the national level and various key stakeholders in South Africa’s electricity sector, it also includes information that is useful for municipalities to understand. Refer to Action 6 in the report, which is most relevant to municipalities.