In a recent meeting with business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa highlighted that there is tension between the urgency and the quality of implementation, with slow progress risking undermining market sentiment, while rushed reforms could trigger system failures.

While full transmission system independence may take several years, South Africa can accelerate progress on immediate priorities, namely resolving grid access rules, enabling curtailment that could add capacity quickly and developing the municipal engineering capacity that underpins system sustainability.

These are concrete areas where business skills and government authority can combine for rapid impact, BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso states in her latest weekly newsletter.

BLSA notes that Ramokgopa said during his meeting with the organisation that government understands the urgency, but recognises that getting complex reforms right takes time.

“The Minister explicitly credited business as central in the resolution of the energy question, and accepted our offer to provide embedded skills capacity; from modelling expertise to policy articulation support.

“This is genuine co-creation of solutions where business expertise can help government navigate reform complexity,” she notes.

One of the positive features of the Government of National Unity has been the openness of Ministers to engage with business and a realisation that better understanding of each other's needs and objectives can help all stakeholders to make progress, she adds.

“The amended Electricity Regulation Act, which is the legislative foundation for competitive electricity markets, is now in place and enables Eskom's restructuring into separate generation, transmission and distribution entities, thereby breaking the monopoly that constrained our energy future,” says Mavuso.

Significantly, the Independent Transmission Project Office has been established and will unlock billions in private transmission investment, starting with 1 164 km of new lines that will release 3 200 MW of stranded renewables capacity in the Northern and Western Cape, she points out.

With Eskom's availability factor now stabilising at about 65% and additional capacity from Medupi and Koeberg units coming online, there is breathing room to implement structural changes properly.

“However, immediate wins are within reach, if we can resolve current bottlenecks. Current grid access disputes are blocking renewable-energy projects and preventing energy traders from participating in virtual wheeling, and are undermining the very competition we're trying to create.

“Further, some exporters risk losing EU market access within 12 months owing to carbon border adjustments, while we struggle to issue renewable-energy certificates quickly enough. The Minister's commitment to have the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's board chairperson lead the resolution of grid access rules offers a concrete near-term milestone we can track,” she adds.

As government focuses increasingly on local government delivery, business stands ready to contribute capacity and insight where it's needed.

“Ramokgopa's detailed engagement demonstrates how business is now viewed as a genuine partner in solving complex policy challenges.”

However, Eskom must serve as a supplier of last resort for millions of poor South Africans, and this social obligation requires a sustainable financing model that the current structures cannot deliver.

Municipalities owe Eskom more than R110-billion, while customers owe municipalities more than R370-billion. This is a payment crisis that threatens system sustainability.

Additionally, more than 95% of municipalities lack qualified electrical engineers, which undermines their ability to collect revenue, maintain infrastructure or plan for growth.

“Our current distribution system is not fit for purpose, and numerous interventions to address the culture of non-payment have failed to solve the problem.

“The Distribution Agency Agreements being developed could address this systematically, but implementation will require the kind of coordinated effort that has made South Africa's energy partnership successful,” Mavuso emphasises.