Eskom Targets Data Centre Boom to Absorb Power Surplus

South Africa endured years of rolling blackouts as ageing coal plants operated by state-owned Eskom struggled with breakdowns and poor maintenance, with the crisis peaking in 2023. A generation recovery, expanding rooftop solar and weak industrial demand have since produced excess capacity. Data centres offer the utility a valuable source of steady, round-the-clock consumption as South Africa’s cloud and AI infrastructure market is forecast to more than double to $5 billion by 2031.

Eskom Chairman Mteto Nyati said in August the utility would actively pursue the data-centre “gold rush” to sell electricity it cannot currently place. Its April 22 winter outlook projected about 6 gigawatts of surplus peak capacity between April 1 and August 31. Eskom reached one full year without load shedding on May 16, while improved plant performance cut diesel expenditure by 26.9 billion rand over three years, strengthening its case that the grid can support large new customers.