Eskom’s monopoly in South Africa is slowly ending

According to BusinessTech, President Cyril Ramaphosa has pushed back a key step in restructuring Eskom as South Africa moves toward separating transmission from the national utility a shift BusinessTech says means Eskom’s monopoly in South Africa is slowly ending.

Deadline extended for restructuring task team

BusinessTech reports that the Eskom Restructuring Task Team missed its original deadline of 30 May 2026 to present a high-level report to the presidency. The president has given the team until 30 June 2026 to deliver the report, “in order to ensure that the proposed approach can be fully detailed and considered through the relevant governance structures,” BusinessTech says.

Who’s on the task team and what it must do

BusinessTech states the task team includes representatives from the Presidency, National Treasury, the Department of Electricity and Energy, Eskom, and the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA). It was created after the president’s State of the Nation Address to develop a detailed proposal for separating a new independent transmission system operator from Eskom.

Mandate and tensions

The task team is tasked with proposing the institutional model for a new transmission system operator (TSO), ensuring the NTCSA’s independence where required, and detailing how transmission assets would be transferred and controlled. BusinessTech notes the team must balance two critical requirements: ensuring the TSO is fully independent and ensuring Eskom is not worse off financially.

BusinessTech reports one reason Eskom and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa argued to keep transmission assets with Eskom was obligations to bondholders and the financial implications of losing the assets. The TSO, BusinessTech adds, must be financially sustainable and able to raise funding for infrastructure aligned with the country’s Transmission Development Plan.

Background: earlier plans and the president’s intervention

BusinessTech explains that in December Eskom said Ramokgopa had approved a “revised unbundling strategy” that would split Eskom into distribution, generation, renewable energy and transmission units under a single holding company, with Eskom retaining ownership of the grid. That approach contrasted with an earlier plan proposed by Mr Ramaphosa in 2019 to separate the company into three stand-alone units to open the market.

After public backlash, BusinessTech reports, Ramaphosa clarified in his State of the Nation Address that a new independent transmission company would be established separate from Eskom’s NTCSA. In his remarks he said the TSO would have, and BusinessTech quotes, “ownership and control of transmission assets and be responsible for operating the electricity market.”

Next steps and timelines

BusinessTech notes the high-level report due at the end of June is the first phase. The second phase is to develop a detailed implementation plan with timeframes for completing the restructuring. BusinessTech reports this second phase is expected to be completed within three months of the first phase ending, putting the deadline around the end of September 2026.

What this means

According to BusinessTech, the extended timetable reflects the complexity of separating transmission from Eskom while protecting the utility’s financial position and ensuring a new TSO can fund required infrastructure. BusinessTech frames these steps as part of a gradual move away from Eskom’s previous monopoly on transmission.