Power StationsWORLDWIDETHE GLOBAL EDITION 01
Map of 104 power plants in South Africa, coloured by fuel and sized by capacity
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Power plants in South Africa

104 power-plant records · 50,423 MW reported capacity

  • Solar 42%
  • Wind 23%
  • Coal 16%
Explore South Africa on the map

South Africa at a glance

Power-plant records
104
Reported capacity
50,423 MW
Renewable electricity (2024)
12.5%
Most records
Solar, Wind
Capital
Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town

Reported capacity is the rated size of the listed installations, not electricity being produced now. Source dates and coverage differ, so newer facilities may be absent and historical records may remain.

How electricity works in South Africa

Single buyerOne state buyer, private generators

Coal supplies about 80% of electricity. After years of load-shedding, private renewable plants are expanding, and the 2024 Electricity Regulation Amendment Act creates a competitive wholesale market.

  1. GenerationState utility + private producers
  2. TransmissionOne state buyer
  3. DistributionUtility networks
  4. CustomersRegulated tariffs

Who regulates

Who controls the grid

State-owned Eskom generates most power; its subsidiary NTCSA runs transmission and buys from independent producers; municipalities distribute to many customers.

Markets & power exchanges

No open power exchange: producers sell to the single buyer under long-term contracts.

Regional grid

  • Southern African Power PoolRegional grid

    Member of the Southern African Power Pool, which links national utilities across southern Africa and runs regional day-ahead and intraday electricity markets.

What does “Single buyer” mean?

Independent power producers build plants and sell their output under long-term contracts to one designated state buyer, usually the national utility, which runs the grid and sells to consumers.

References reviewed 2026-09-29. Logos are each organisation’s own site icon, shown to identify it. Selected organisations, not an exhaustive list of licence holders.

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ELECTRICITY IN 2024

How South Africa generates electricity

Electricity generated247.5 TWh
Renewable share12.5%
Low-carbon share15.7%
Carbon intensity717.4 gCO₂e/kWh

Electricity mix 2024

Annual generation by source · terawatt-hours (TWh)

Hydro1.1 TWh
Wind11.1 TWh
Solar18.3 TWh
Bioenergy0.47 TWh
Other renewablesNo data
Nuclear7.8 TWh
Coal206.8 TWh
Gas0 TWh
Other fossil1.9 TWh

Missing categories are labelled “No data”. Rounding can cause small differences from the reported total.

Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.

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Geography and data notes

South Africa is in Southern Africa. Its coastal or island geography provides a different setting for electricity infrastructure from inland systems. This profile connects country reference information with the historical station inventory and reported electricity generation.

Capital
Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town
Languages
Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Region
Southern Africa

Geographic reference: Countries geographic database (ODbL). Boundaries and names are for orientation; language listings are introductory, not exhaustive. Banner map: Natural Earth boundaries (public domain) with this atlas’s station records.

The source inventory contains 104 records for South Africa. Select a fuel in the map to explore where its stations are located, then open a record to inspect reported capacity and provenance.

Inventory coverage

104 source records. 0 reported operational in their source snapshot; this is not live status.

7 lack an owner/operator; 19 lack a commissioning year.

Coverage, dates & exclusions
THE GENERATION INVENTORY

List of power plants in South Africa

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Browse 104 source records, ordered by reported capacity. Ownership and operating status describe the source snapshot; they may have changed. Missing information is shown explicitly.

Published selection: 12 records. JavaScript loads the full searchable inventory.

Koeberg

Nuclear
1,800 MW
Owner in source
Eskom
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
1984
Source status
Operating status unverified
Eskom · historical recordDetails & map

MW measures rated capacity, not electricity generated. Records may describe units, installations, projects or whole complexes. Review inventory coverage and licenses. Download this country’s records.