Despite the ongoing power outages, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is already implementing part of his energy action plan, including doubling rooftop solar capacity.

The President's weekly newsletter is published in conjunction with the Energy Action Plan's one-year progress report, which covers progress on the plan's five pillars, including: repairing Eskom and improving the availability of existing electricity; Support and accelerate private investment in power capacity; Fast track the procurement of new power capacity and storage capacity; Unleash corporate and household investment in rooftop solar and transform the power sector to achieve long-term energy security.

"The use of rooftop solar by homes and businesses is one of the most important contributions to the Energy Action Plan." The report notes that rooftop solar capacity in South Africa has increased to more than 4,000 MW, doubling from a year ago. New tax incentives and innovative financing mechanisms are helping to fuel a boom in rooftop solar, significantly reducing outages."

The report also highlights regulatory reforms implemented under the Energy Action Plan, which for the first time open up space for private investment in large-scale power projects. Hundreds of projects are now being developed across the country without any funding from the government. "These projects will make the biggest difference in ending power outages, while also helping South Africa shift to cheaper, greener energy sources."

The president reiterated that such projects have now reached 10,000 MW and said that some of them will be integrated into the grid by the end of the year. Ramaphosa also highlighted interventions to boost the performance of Eskom's units, writing that unplanned losses have fallen below 16,000 MW in the past two months from more than 18,000 MW previously. Ramaphosa also said the ongoing restoration of service projects at Kusile and Medupi power stations would add 3,000 MW of capacity by the end of the year. Editor/Xu Shengpeng