More than 40 major South African companies announced renewable energy plans in 2026 alone, according to reporting from BusinessTech on 6 July 2026. The reason is not environmental, it is arithmetic. Eskom electricity now costs businesses over R2 per kilowatt-hour. The levelised cost of solar sits at roughly 50 to 60 cents. Electricity prices have risen nearly 900% since 2008, an average of about 15% a year, while Eskom carries R358 billion in debt.
What Is Actually Changing
Registered renewable capacity in South Africa has gone from under 20 megawatts in 2018 to 19,677 megawatts now. Behind-the-meter private solar, systems businesses install directly on their own premises, accounts for around 8,400 megawatts of that. Companies are also using wheeling arrangements, paying to have renewable power generated elsewhere fed into the grid and credited to their account, without installing anything on-site themselves.
Why This Is a Strategy Story, Not Just an Energy Story
Every rand a business stops paying Eskom is a rand available somewhere else. For the SMEs we work with, that has usually meant one of two things: absorbing rising costs into margin, or passing them onto customers who are also under pressure. A business that fixes its electricity cost structure, even partially, through solar or a wheeling arrangement, frees up a real, recurring amount of budget. Where that budget goes next is a choice, and marketing, a proper website, paid search, SEO that compounds, is one of the better places to put savings that would otherwise just cover an Eskom increase next year.
The Practical Point
You do not need Impala Platinum's budget to benefit from the same logic on a smaller scale. Solar for a business with predictable daytime electricity use, an office, a workshop, a retail space, often pays for itself faster than most marketing spend does. If you are reviewing your business costs this year, put electricity and digital growth budget in the same conversation. Cutting the first is frequently what funds the second.