Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned power utility and the continent’s largest electricity producer, has appointed Johannesburg-based software firm Enerweb to develop an advanced virtual wheeling platform. This initiative marks a pivotal moment in the utility’s modernisation agenda as it seeks to reform the country’s electricity market, enhance grid efficiency, and expand access to renewable energy across both urban and regional networks.
Founded in 1923, Eskom generates and supplies over 90 per cent of South Africa’s electricity and plays a critical role in regional power trade through the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The company has long been at the centre of national discourse surrounding energy security, financial sustainability, and the transition to cleaner power. Its latest move to automate and scale the virtual wheeling process demonstrates a strategic shift toward digital integration and market liberalisation aimed at enabling a more inclusive energy landscape.
According to Moneyweb, Eskom’s partnership with Enerweb is its most substantial step to date in operationalising virtual wheeling. This mechanism allows independent power producers (IPPs) to sell renewable electricity directly to smaller commercial and industrial users connected to Eskom’s grid or municipal distribution systems. Unlike traditional wheeling, which has typically benefited large industrial customers through long-term agreements, the virtual model will enable smaller enterprises and local manufacturers to access clean energy via shorter, more flexible contracts.
The South African renewable energy sector continues to expand rapidly, with installed capacity projected to increase from 16.31 gigawatts in 2025 to 28.30 gigawatts by 2030, growing at an estimated compound annual rate of 11.65 per cent, according to data from Mordor Intelligence. This growth underscores both the urgency and opportunity for improved grid integration, particularly in light of persistent supply constraints that have historically limited industrial productivity and economic expansion.
Eskom’s newly commissioned platform will integrate generation, consumption, and billing data into a unified digital system. It will automate rebate calculations, embed them into existing invoicing, and maintain rigorous audit trails for transparency. In time, it will support trader functionality and accommodate granular, time-of-use metering data across the diverse municipal networks that make up South Africa’s complex distribution landscape.
The development coincides with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa)’s consultation process on draft trading rules intended to define settlement procedures, data management, and trader conduct. These regulatory refinements, expected to be finalised in 2026, are crucial for embedding virtual wheeling into the national energy framework and broadening participation beyond major corporate entities.
However, Eskom’s reform path has not been without contention. The utility’s legal actions against certain private trading licences have drawn criticism from some stakeholders who perceive such measures as attempts to retain centralised control. Eskom, for its part, maintains that ensuring regulatory clarity and grid stability remains essential to the sustainability of market liberalisation.
The Enerweb platform forms part of Eskom’s broader strategy to align its digital infrastructure with national energy reform targets, including the launch of a transitional wholesale electricity market by 2026. This approach also aims to address municipal revenue vulnerabilities through rebate-based mechanisms that mitigate the impact of shifting energy flows on local finances.
At a continental level, the initiative resonates with Africa’s broader ambition to build resilient, decentralised, and inclusive energy systems. As nations across the region pursue cleaner energy pathways, platforms like this one may serve as vital enablers for cross-border electricity trade, improved system transparency, and equitable access to renewable power.
Insights from GreenCape indicate that renewable energy continues to account for a growing share of new capacity additions across Southern Africa. The emergence of a transparent and automated virtual wheeling model could therefore strengthen investor confidence and reinforce Africa’s position as a proactive architect of its energy transition, rather than a passive recipient of external models.
Eskom’s commissioning of the virtual wheeling platform, if effectively implemented, may thus represent more than a technical upgrade. It could become a cornerstone in reimagining how African economies generate, distribute, and trade power — one grounded in regional cooperation, sustainability, and technological self-determination.
