South Africa is generating more electricity than it needs, says deputy electricity minister

During the height of loadshedding, several individuals and companies decided to install solar panels.

As a result, Eskom is generating more electricity and seeing an increase in electricity generation.

According to Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Samantha Graham-Maré, the rooftop solar panels have generated 7.3 gigawatts of electricity this year.

She said the country is currently producing less electricity than it did during stage 6 loadshedding in 2023 because demand has dropped substantially.

This has allowed Eskom to take units offline to do the maintenance that is required.

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“We don't want to create a false narrative that we're completely out of the woods. We still have aging infrastructure. We still have power stations that need to be decommissioned in five years. But our generation is on the hill,”Graham-Maré said.

Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Samantha Graham-Maré was in conversation with Clarence Ford on CapeTalk.

Listen to the full interview in the audio player below.