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State utility Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) has started work to connect the 2.1GW Julius Nyerere hydroelectric power (HEP) plant to Chalinze substation in Pwani district, via a 400kV power transmission line built by India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

A PPA for the 25MW Ilute independent power project fits into Zambia’s wider plan to use open access to become a regional hub for electricity trading. Offtaker Africa GreenCo will sell Ilute’s power to a variety of customers by wheeling across national utility Zesco’s transmission network and the Southern African Power Pool (Sapp)

National Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) registered 98 new power generation projects between July and September, with a combined capacity of 908MW, taking the total registered so far this year to 2.9GW. However, few of these new schemes include storage components, meaning that when solar or wind resources are unavailable there will be even more pressure on the grid.

Casablanca-based infrastructure financier Africa50 has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) to develop three solar photovoltaic plants and a series of transmission projects. Africa50 said it planned to develop the projects under the $4.5bn ($236m) Africa Green Investment (AGI) initiative announced on 11 December at the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai.

Danish investor and developer Frontier Energy has announced a co-investment with three European development finance agencies for the 50MWp, under-construction, multi-site Planet Solar independent power producer (IPP) plant. Planet Solar will be Sierra Leone’s first large grid-connected IPP, the funders said.

Although Zambian consumers take up the bulk of locally-generated power, state utility Zesco is looking to maintain a ‘healthy’ relationship with external electricity buyers, which include Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cash-strapped South African state utility Eskom says it has used debt and its own cash to finance power transmission infrastructure projects that could unlock more grid capacity in the next few years as market operator NTCSA prepares for operation.

SolarAfrica has outlined to African Energy the latest timeframe for the first phase of its 1GW SunCentral solar PV wheeling project in South Africa's Northern Cape. The project is among the first private projects to be issued with an Eskom budget quote since the utility changed grid allocation rules and gave priority to shovel-ready generation projects under the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP).

The West African Power Pool (Wapp) has inaugurated its Information and Co-ordination Centre (ICC) at its headquarters in Cotonou, Benin.

African Energy Live Data started consistently monitoring power project pipelines across the continent eight years ago. An analysis of the figures for South Africa shows a tragic lost opportunity in the shape of many gigawatts of potential renewable generation capacity with no foreseeable chance of being connected to the grid.

The future of electric power generation in South Africa is no longer in the hands of state-owned utility Eskom. Although it controls more than 80% of installed capacity, including 45GW of coal-fired generation, changes in the electricity supply industry are now being driven by the installation of many gigawatts-worth of captive solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, following the removal of licence restrictions.

Eskom’s most recent Transmission Development Plan (TDP) 2023-32 and Grid Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) 2025 showed there was no capacity for additional power to be connected to the grid in the entire western half of South Africa, the location of almost all planned wind generation projects and a large amount of solar and other potential capacity.

In a major investigation, African Energy’s editorial and data teams have probed unanswered questions about South Africa’s energy transition, which is being shaped by large corporations and their need for reliable, low-carbon power. The results show a booming private sector electricity market that is also unpredictable and freighted with risk for all participants.

The utilities of the four-nation Organisation for the Development of the Gambia River (L’Organisation pour la mise en Valeur du Fleuve Gambie, OMVG) have signed a transmission service agreement for the 1,677km ‘Loop’ high-voltage power transmission line. The $685m development comprises 4,000 pylons and 15 substations and interconnects the grids of Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal. As its name suggests, the 225kV, double-circuit line forms a circular network spanning the four countries.

First discovered in 1974, the offshore Kudu gas field could provide substantial gas-to-power capacity for Namibia’s domestic market and for export to South Africa. Officials say it will proceed independently of recent massive Orange Basin discoveries further south, but industry observers are sceptical of the electricity export plans, citing the lack of transmission infrastructure with South Africa, write Our Namibia Correspondent and Marc Howard.