Unpacking C&I sector issues in South Africa

C&I Energy+Storage Summit Johannesburg takes places at the Maslow Hotel, Sandton from 4 to 5 November 2025.

Top of mind for the C&I sector in South Africa at the moment has shifted from power outages to burning topic such as grid access, grid connections and policy development around Eskom’s unbundling.

“…What happens with the unbundling, who is independent, how do we get that grid access, things like that… those are the burring issues that companies at the moment are really interested in knowing how to navigate,” said Pitso Sekhoto.

He is a middle manager with the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), focused on substation automation integration.

In his capacity as advisory board member for the C&I Energy+Storage Summit Johannesburg, he spoke to ESI Africa about the South African C&I sector, delving into challenges and innovations in this fast-moving sphere.

While he acknowledges that while commercial and industrial sectors around the world have different characteristics and needs, he points out that South Africa is a leader in aspects such as the pace at which the market is exploring embedded generation and the transition to green sources that connect to electricity grids.

He is looking forward to find out more about scaling of energy storage and how projects are deployed and how private sector are creating impactful projects at the Summit in Johannesburg.

Cover photo:  wosunan©123rf