Ramokgopa: South Africa generating excess power while some households can’t afford it

Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said South Africa is producing more electricity than it needs even as some households remain without power because they cannot afford to buy units. He made the remarks at a media briefing in Hatfield, Pretoria, where he also outlined plans for battery storage and a new gas programme.

Power available but not always accessible

Ramokgopa drew a distinction between electricity supply and electricity access, saying that the presence of excess generation on the grid does not automatically translate into households having usable power.

“We are generating excess electricity, but their households now, as I speak to you, have no electricity, because they just can’t afford to buy the units,”

He said tariff decisions are not set by Eskom but by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), which bases tariffs on a policy introduced in 2008. Ramokgopa said the government is working to close the gap between supply and affordability and that a new electricity pricing policy was intended to address the problem, though he cautioned policy development takes time and there was no final answer on prices yet.

Measures to relieve grid pressure: batteries and gas

The minister announced the government will procure 4 600MW of battery storage allocated under the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025. He said this allocation exceeds the IRP’s original expectation of about 2 200MW by 2030 because excess generation is already straining the system.

Ramokgopa said officials are fast-tracking storage so the system operator is relieved now rather than waiting for the future. He warned delay could lead back to a crisis if megawatts are not brought onto the grid.

At the briefing an official said bids for the first gas-to-power round closed on 29 May 2026 and were in final evaluation, and that a further 5GW had been set aside for a second round. The minister said a new gas programme was under way and that the next power parks round would be announced before the end of the calendar year.

Steps to lower costs for developers

Ramokgopa said the state will prepare land approvals, studies and bulk services to cut upfront costs for developers, and that the Independent Power Producer (IPP) office would run procurement before the end of the financial year. He added that Eskom would compete on equal terms with other generators.

Local network problems and load reduction

The minister linked load reduction to overloaded local networks caused mainly by illegal connections, growing informal settlements and weak municipal planning. He said load reduction had ended in seven of nine provinces.

Ramokgopa noted officials were studying ways to use surplus daytime power to benefit households and industry, subject to regulator approval, and that fixing local network constraints would require significant funding: he gave the example that new transformers cost about R500 000 each.

What the minister said next

Ramokgopa said residents had asked to be billed properly and to be formalised so they could access electricity, and that the government would continue developing policy to address both current and future challenges. He told reporters he would “come back” with more details on pricing.