From September 2025 to August 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 80% of South Africa’s electricity consumption, with coal alone accounting for almost all of that share. Low-carbon sources provided the remaining fifth: solar contributed almost 9%, wind and nuclear each supplied about 5%, and hydropower added around 1%. South Africa therefore remains heavily dependent on coal, leaving substantial scope to expand clean electricity and reduce the climate-changing emissions and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in South Africa?

South Africa’s electricity consumption per person remains far below its historical peak. The latest 2026 figure is about 3,380 kWh per person, compared with roughly 5,210 kWh in 2007—a shortfall of about 1,840 kWh, or 35%. These figures do not establish whether total electricity consumption is currently growing, but they show a worrying long-term decline in electricity available per person. Encouragingly, low-carbon generation reached a new record of 675 kWh per person, exceeding the 2025 record by 26 kWh, or about 4%. That clean electricity growth needs to accelerate alongside overall electricity supply to support electrification, industry and emerging demand, including AI.

Suggestions

South Africa can build on its existing solar, wind and nuclear generation to increase clean electricity supply. For solar, sunny regions offer useful examples: Chile generates about 24% of its electricity from solar, Australia around 22%, and the US state of Nevada about a third. Expanding both large solar projects and rooftop installations, alongside grids and storage, could help South Africa move well beyond its current solar share. Wind also has considerable room to grow: Morocco obtains about 20% of its electricity from wind, while Uruguay gets almost a third. Nuclear expansion deserves a central place in the strategy too: France generates roughly two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, while South Korea produces about a quarter. These examples demonstrate how a much larger nuclear contribution can complement growing solar and wind generation.

History

South Africa’s low-carbon electricity history includes substantial nuclear additions and, more recently, strong solar growth. Nuclear generation increased by 3.9 TWh in 1984 and 3.5 TWh in 1986, followed by another 3.8 TWh increase in 1988. The 1990s and 2000s brought mixed annual changes, including a 2.4 TWh nuclear increase in 1994. Further nuclear gains of 2.2 TWh in 2013 and 2.8 TWh in 2016 helped strengthen clean supply. Hydropower generation fell by 5 TWh in 2019, underscoring the importance of expanding a diverse low-carbon electricity mix. In 2021, nuclear and wind generation increased by 2.4 TWh and 2.2 TWh respectively. Solar then delivered sustained growth, adding 2.7 TWh in 2022, 4.3 TWh in 2023 and 3.6 TWh in 2024, while nuclear added another 2.4 TWh in 2025. These gains provide a foundation for the faster clean electricity expansion South Africa needs.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.