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For South Africa, years of electricity constraints and aging infrastructure have underscored an urgent need for coordinated investment and the integration of cleaner energy sources, with economic losses from load-shedding estimated at ZAR481 billion. Meeting growing industrial and household demand – projected to reach around 264 TWh by 2030 – also requires both domestic planning and international support, particularly from intergovernmental organizations and collaborative platforms.

The G20 and BRICS offer key avenues for engagement. As host of the 2025 G20 presidency, South Africa has leveraged the platform to highlight its energy infrastructure agenda and attract global investment. Through high-level forums, the country has sought to advance continental energy integration, enhance regional electricity reliability and foster private‑sector participation in energy development. G20 involvement could unlock multilateral financing, giving access to lower-cost capital for grid upgrades, renewable deployment and gas-to-power initiatives that might otherwise be delayed or constrained. In a challenging financing environment, these global channels provide critical support for strategic energy projects.

BRICS complements this support by offering alternative development financing and strategic partnerships. South Africa’s role within the New Development Bank opens a pathway to funding projects that may not attract traditional Western lenders. Such support diversifies funding sources and encourages regional energy collaboration. Under the BRICS roadmap, member states aim to identify energy security challenges and promote exchanges of advanced technology and best practices – from small hydropower and clean‑coal innovations to renewable energy deployment and grid modernization. By drawing on the combined technical and financial resources of BRICS partners, South Africa could accelerate infrastructure rollout, integrate cleaner energy technologies and reinforce long-term energy stability.

While South Africa has made strides under its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program, which expanded large‑scale solar PV, wind and other generation sources, electricity supply remains fragile. After a recent stretch of 168 days without load‑shedding, the country’s grid performance has improved considerably – however, unplanned outages and occasional maintenance‑related disruptions underscore the continued importance of backup capacity and system resilience. Embedded and private generation capacity have grown, helping ease stress on the national grid, but still only supply a fraction of total demand. Intergovernmental support – through financing, policy guidance, capacity building, and infrastructure investment – remains valuable to modernize transmission networks, integrate renewables effectively and ensure long-term energy stability in the face of future demand growth.

African Energy Week (AEW), Africa’s premier energy forum, serves as a critical platform for intergovernmental engagement, bringing together government officials, investors, utilities, developers and multilateral organizations. AEW 2026, scheduled in Cape Town from October 12 to 16, will provide a space for dialogue, negotiation and showcasing new technologies, while aligning South Africa’s energy priorities – including grid expansion, renewable integration, gas infrastructure and project financing – with the objectives of international partners, including G20 and BRICS members. Beyond financing, the forum facilitates political consensus-building, cross-border coordination, regulatory harmonization and knowledge exchange, helping ensure a more integrated energy transition. For South Africa, whose energy challenges affect both domestic and regional markets, such alignment is essential for long-term resilience and growth.

“If effectively leveraged, intergovernmental backing – paired with the convening power of AEW – could help South Africa pivot from energy management toward a stable, diversified, forward-looking energy infrastructure. By harnessing global institutions, securing diversified financing and maintaining consistent policy frameworks, South Africa may not only overcome load-shedding but emerge as a regional energy leader, offering a model for transformation across the continent,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.