Africa's leading market (Teraco, hyperscaler regions), with cheap-ish power, recovering fast from load-shedding (231 days clear in 2025). Availability is the swing factor; the trajectory is up.
See live grid data →Workable access; Africa's deepest data-center market.
Recovering availability: 231 consecutive days without load-shedding in 2025, EAF rising.
Cheap-ish power.
Real momentum (Teraco, hyperscaler regions).
High carbon (~585 g), coal-led but adding renewables.
Modelled read: multi-year load-shedding eased sharply (long clear stretches in 2025); recovery durability is the watch.
What this means: A large new load faces occasional exposure here. Monitor conditions and keep a contingency plan.
modelled
We have not compiled what firm service actually promises here: whether it is firm, non-firm or interruptible, the conditions under which you can be curtailed, the redundancy required of you, and the transfer time behind any N-1 commitment. Treat this as an open diligence item, not as an indication that service is firm.
Utility feeds, UPS, storage, on-site generation, islanding, black start and the residual energy you still expect to lose are properties of a specific site design, not of a market. This layer only exists once there is a site, and we never assert it for you.
What this means: Supply and demand look broadly balanced; the outcome hinges on the drivers below.
High
This market's friction level, wait band and full story are free here. The precise typical wait in months, and every market ranked side by side, are the Analyst Desk.
Eskom reached 300-plus days without load-shedding by early 2026, but its Generation Connection Capacity Assessment shows no capacity for new connection across the western half of the country, and hyperscalers (Microsoft, AWS, Google) are competing for Johannesburg and Cape Town capacity. Developers increasingly pair grid connection with on-site solar and gas to secure power.
Data-center share of demand pressure: Rising. Sources: Eskom Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA 2025) · Teraco solar for South Africa data centres (DCD). The full cross-market connection dataset is available through the Connection Friction Feed.
Eskom Megaflex (about $0.110 per kWh)
administered, Eskom Megaflex large-industrial tariff, 2026/27
Rising: up 8.76% from 1 April 2026, continuing a steep multi-year climb, with the fixed capacity charge growing as a share.
South Africa's large loads buy on Eskom's regulated Megaflex tariff, not a market. It rose 8.76% from 1 April 2026 (roughly 11 to 12 US cents per kWh) as part of a steep multi-year climb. The tariff, not a spot price, is what a data center pays.
Basis: measured. Source: Eskom 2026/27 tariff increase.
$92 to $128 per MWh
Midpoint about $110 per MWh
South Africa's realized cost is Eskom's regulated Megaflex tariff. The band is wider than a single number because Megaflex is strongly time-of-use, but it is administered, not a market price, and it is climbing steeply year on year.
This market's band is free here; the ranked cross-market table with every market's precise midpoint is the Analyst Desk. See the ranked view.
Basis: triangulated from public sources, in US dollars per MWh delivered to a large high-load-factor load, excluding refundable taxes. Sources: Eskom 2026/27 tariff increase.
Moderate
2 of 4 data layers measured
Full
3 of 3 dimensions: reliability, connection, cost
June 2026
per-layer vintages below
| Layer | Method | Vintage | Freshness | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGIQ Rating opinion | opinion | June 2026 | Current | PGIQ methodology |
| Reliability review | modelled | 2025 | Fresh | on the market page |
| Connection friction | proxy | 2025/26 | Fresh | Eskom Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA 2025) |
| Large-user tariff | administered | 2026/27 | Fresh | Eskom 2026/27 tariff increase |
| Realized cost | measured | 2026 | Fresh | Eskom 2026/27 tariff increase |
Freshness reflects each layer's refresh cadence: reliability annual to three-yearly, capacity-auction and queue yearly, tariffs every year or two. The full cross-market freshness dashboard is at /data-quality.
Not compiled for this market. Identify the serving operator before relying on any figure here, because a market-level read is an average over territories.
How the connection process is organised: the applicable service and connection entities depend on the candidate location and the power pathway. We have not compiled the structure for this market; that is a gap in our wayfinding, not a fact about the market.
The real-world events that test our Tier 3 call for South Africa: 3 support it. Each is dated and cited, so you can check the rating against what is actually happening on the ground.
Eskom reported (4 Aug 2026) 441 consecutive days without load-shedding, demand met 100% of the time from 1 Apr to 30 Jul 2026, and a daily energy availability factor of 82.04% on 26 Jul 2026, its highest since 2017. The winter outlook to 31 Aug 2026 continues to project no load-shedding. Updates the prior one year entry.
Source: SAnews / Eskom ↗A full year without load-shedding reached 16 May 2026 (now 406 consecutive days); unplanned outages down ~3.5 GW year-on-year and the winter outlook projects continued stability. Updates the prior 231-day entry.
Source: SAnews / Eskom ↗Eskom's energy-availability factor is recovering, a major reliability turnaround from the 2023 crisis.
Source: Eskom ↗How South Africa's reliability-adjusted score and tier have moved, month by month. Part of your Analyst Desk.
Every field above carries its own source and freshness. Price, imports and exports are modelled in every market because no feed supplies them. Carbon intensity is derived from the fuel mix.
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This page is our full read on South Africa alone, and it is free. To decide where a large load should actually go, you need every market side by side, ranked on recurring cost and time-to-connect, with the history and alerts when your shortlist moves. That is the Analyst Desk.
With your Analyst Desk, compare South Africa against every market side by side, ranked on recurring cost and time-to-connect, with the full history and shortlist alerts.