Electricity generation in South Africa
Annual electricity production, fuel mix and historical observations for South Africa, with links to its grid operators, electricity market and power stations.
Reference year: 2024. Published snapshot, not live output. Energy is reported in terawatt-hours (TWh).
How much electricity does South Africa produce?
South Africa reported 247.5 TWh of domestic electricity generation in 2024. Among the reported source categories, coal produced the most electricity: 206.8 TWh.
Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.
Electricity mix 2024
Annual generation by source · terawatt-hours (TWh)
Missing categories are labelled “No data”. Rounding can cause small differences from the reported total.
Renewable share uses domestic generation as its denominator. Low-carbon generation includes renewables and nuclear; nuclear is not renewable. Missing fuel categories remain “No data”, and rounded source values need not sum exactly to the reported total.
Generation is not consumption or installed capacity
The source separately reports electricity demand of 246.2 TWh for 2024. Domestic generation is not electricity consumed after trade and losses. The demand series is a separate source measure, not a calculated import balance. Power-plant ratings in megawatts (MW) measure capacity; annual production in TWh measures energy.
Searching for “energy production in South Africa”? This profile answers the electricity part of that question. Transport fuels, heat and total primary-energy production are outside this dataset.
Annual electricity generation in South Africa
Every row retains its own reporting year. 2024 remains the common-year comparison even where a newer observation exists. Missing observations are not interpolated.
| Year | Generation (TWh) | Renewable (%) | Low-carbon (%) | Demand (TWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 242.8 | 13.6 | 17.8 | 236.8 |
| 2024 | 247.5 | 12.5 | 15.7 | 246.2 |
| 2023 | 233 | 12.4 | 15.9 | 232.4 |
| 2022 | 239.2 | 9.9 | 14.1 | 237.7 |
| 2021 | 245.5 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 241.9 |
| 2020 | 240.7 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 236.9 |
| 2019 | 253.1 | 5.2 | 10.5 | 247.9 |
| 2018 | 256.3 | 4.9 | 9.4 | 251.6 |
| 2017 | 255.1 | 4.8 | 10.3 | 248.5 |
| 2016 | 252.8 | 3.2 | 9.2 | 246.8 |
| 2015 | 250.1 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 248.5 |
| 2014 | 254.8 | 1.7 | 7.1 | 252.1 |
| 2013 | 256 | 0.66 | 6.2 | 251.5 |
| 2012 | 257.9 | 0.59 | 5.6 | 252.8 |
| 2011 | 262.5 | 1.4 | 6.3 | 259.4 |
| 2010 | 259.6 | 0.61 | 5.8 | 257.1 |
| 2009 | 249.6 | 0.78 | 5.9 | 247.8 |
| 2008 | 258.3 | 0.69 | 5.7 | 254.7 |
| 2007 | 263.5 | 1.3 | 5.6 | 260.3 |
| 2006 | 253.8 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 250.9 |
| 2005 | 244.9 | 0.73 | 5.3 | 242.6 |
| 2004 | 244.6 | 0.56 | 6 | 241.2 |
| 2003 | 234.2 | 0.54 | 5.9 | 232.2 |
| 2002 | 220.6 | 1.2 | 6.6 | 222.8 |
| 2001 | 210.1 | 1 | 6.1 | 212.3 |
| 2000 | 210.7 | 0.75 | 6.9 | 223 |
Interactive South Africa trends and country rankings
Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.
South Africa: plant availability and supply interruptions need separate evidence
Reporting scope: CSIR utility-scale power generation review, January–December 2024.
Capacity is not dependable output
CSIR's 2024 analysis examines installed capacities, actual energy production, energy availability and loadshedding. Its scope includes Eskom's aggregated generation resources and renewable procurement programme resources. An atlas capacity total alone does not measure plant availability or establish whether demand could be met.
Source: CSIR: 2024 power generation statistics and study scope.
Separate technologies and reporting scope
The CSIR study distinguishes coal, nuclear, hydro, pumped storage, open-cycle gas turbines, wind, solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power. Broad atlas fuel categories may combine installations with different operating characteristics. Check the report's coverage before applying its results to generators outside that study or to today's operating conditions.
Source: CSIR: technologies included in the 2024 utility-scale analysis.
Understand the data
By Power Stations Worldwide · Context sources checked · Review scope. This date does not update the underlying plant inventory or electricity series.
Compare South Africa with its region
These are geographic country groupings, not one connected electrical grid. Country totals are not divided across continents for transcontinental countries.
- Africa electricity generation and country comparisons
- Southern Africa electricity generation and country comparisons