Enerthia Energy works across four offerings — Energy Consultancy, Business Development, Product & Service Endorsement and Funding — and this week’s briefing sits where they meet. Corporate power buying in South Africa has grown faster than almost anyone predicted: the Energy Council of South Africa says corporate purchases of electricity from independent power producers have increased by more than 850% since 2024. The same council now expects the pace to slow. For a business sizing its next power purchase agreement, both halves of that message matter.
- Corporate purchases of electricity from independent power producers are up more than 850% since 2024, according to the Energy Council of South Africa.
- BloombergNEF expects corporate buyers to support 73% of the 2.3 GW of solar and wind additions anticipated in 2026 — the first year corporate deals outpace government auctions.
- The Energy Council expects the pace to slow, because economic growth is below forecast and reform has entered a complex implementation phase.
- Slower growth changes demand forecasts, so contract volumes should be sized on realistic load, not optimistic load.
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How fast has corporate power buying in South Africa grown?
Very fast: corporate purchases from independent power producers are up more than 850% since 2024. Energy Council CEO James Mackay told Engineering News that South Africa ranks in the top ten developing economies for renewable-energy investment and first in Africa, and that registered electricity traders have multiplied into a rapidly developing new subsector.
Independent analysis points the same way. BloombergNEF’s South Africa Transition Factbook expects corporate buyers to support 73% of the 2.3 GW of solar and wind additions anticipated in 2026, which would make this the first year corporate deals drive more utility-scale renewables than government auctions. We looked at who those buyers are in our earlier briefing on who is buying power through corporate PPAs in South Africa.
Why does the Energy Council expect the pace to slow?
Because the easy phase is over. Mackay’s point is that leaving loadshedding behind meant fixing an existing system, while today’s work means implementing an entirely new one — trading, wheeling, grid allocation and, in time, a wholesale market — and that takes time.
He links the slower pace to economic growth coming in below forecast and to a complex, difficult implementation phase, and describes it as a natural progression rather than resistance to reform. South Africa, he adds, is still moving faster than any peer economy on reform and transition. A slower pace is not a reversal: the growth already built is real, and the routes to market are open.
What does slower growth mean for sizing a corporate PPA?
It means sizing on the load you will actually have, not the load in last year’s plan. A power purchase agreement commits a buyer to a contracted volume for many years. If production plans, new sites or expansion forecasts were built on growth that has not arrived, a contract sized to those forecasts can leave a business paying for energy it cannot use.
Practical steps before you sign:
- re-base demand on the last 12 to 24 months of metered consumption, site by site;
- stress-test the contracted volume against a flat-growth case, not only the expansion case;
- prefer structures that let volume step up as load grows;
- check how surplus energy is treated — our piece on trader-led wheeling versus a negotiated price agreement sets out the two main routes.
Is now still the right time for corporate power buying in South Africa?
Yes — the window is open, and a measured market rewards prepared buyers. Licensed traders, wheeling frameworks and bilateral agreements are in place and in use today. What changes is the margin for error: in a fast market, an oversized contract is soon absorbed by growth; in a slower one, it is not.
The sector is also choosing to show its progress. The Energy Council has launched the inaugural National Energy Awards, endorsed by the Department of Electricity and Energy, across ten categories including Finance Deal of the Year. Nominations close on 23 October, and winners will be announced on 26 November in Johannesburg.
Enerthia Energy can help you get the volume right. Our Energy Consultancy team assesses your demand and recommends the right contract size and structure. Business Development connects you with the right developers, traders and partners. Product & Service Endorsement points you to proven technology and service providers. And through our network of 40 renewable energy investment partners, with funding capacity up to R10 billion, we fund your project on the best-fit model.
Funding for renewable energy projects in South Africa
We fund renewable energy projects of up to R10 billion across debt and equity structures and recommend the model that fits — read about our funding for renewable energy projects in South Africa.
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