# Can a Factory in South Africa Buy Renewable Power Through Wheeling?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/wheeling-renewable-power-south-africa-factories

Published 2026-10-13.

For years, a South African manufacturer that wanted cleaner or cheaper power had two choices: put solar on its own roof, or keep buying from Eskom. Wheeling adds a third. A private generator puts power into the grid somewhere else, and the grid carries it to your factory under a contract, with the transport charges set by regulation.

This article explains how wheeling works in 2026, what it costs and who it suits.

## How it works

A wind or solar plant, often hundreds of kilometres away, sells power to you, directly or through an electricity trader. Eskom's network, or a municipal network, carries it. Your bill then reflects the power you bought privately and the use-of-system charges for moving it.

Two things made this practical:

- **Licensing:** in 2022 the energy regulator, NERSA, lifted licensing requirements that had limited the size of private projects.
- **Tariff rules:** NERSA approves wheeling tariffs and currently allows two methods, either a credit based on avoided grid costs or a separate use-of-system fee.

## The market is moving to traders

Instead of each factory signing a 20-year contract with one wind farm, electricity traders now aggregate several plants and sell to many customers. In March 2026, Anthem's 475 MW Notsi solar project reached financial close on the back of agreements with two traders, Discovery Green and NOA Group, to supply commercial and industrial customers over the Eskom grid. For a mid-sized factory, buying from a trader is usually simpler than negotiating its own power purchase agreement.

## What it costs, and what can erode the saving

- **Eskom's prices keep rising.** NERSA approved an average increase of 8.76 percent for Eskom's direct customers from 1 April 2026, and 9.01 percent for municipal bulk purchasers from 1 July 2026.
- **More of the bill is fixed.** The fixed share of Eskom's generation capacity charge rises from 20 percent in its 2026 financial year to 30 percent in 2027, and that portion is not offset by the wheeling credit. This reduces the value of wheeled power.
- **Claimed savings:** some trader contracts target 20 to 30 percent below Eskom's wholesale tariffs. Those are developer targets, not audited results. Model your own load and tariff.

## Why it matters beyond the bill

For exporters, cleaner electricity lowers the carbon in every product. Under CBAM, electricity emissions do not count yet for iron, steel and aluminium, but they do for cement and fertilisers, and the EU is examining wider coverage. European customers also ask for Scope 2 data. Keep the wheeling contracts and certificates with your energy records so the renewable share can be shown.

## How to start

1. Pull twelve months of Eskom or municipal bills, with time-of-use data.
2. Ask two or three traders for offers based on your load profile.
3. Check the network charges that will apply at your connection point.
4. Compare the landed cost with your current tariff, including the fixed charges you will still pay.

Senseible reads your electricity bills for units and billing periods and keeps grid and renewable supply separate, so both your cost saving and your emissions can be shown. For heavy users, see [renewable power for ferrochrome smelters in South Africa](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/renewable-power-ferrochrome-smelter-south-africa) and [green loans for steel businesses in Johannesburg](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/green-loan-steel-business-johannesburg).

Check NERSA's current wheeling rules and your network operator's charges before signing.

## Related guides

- [green loan for a steel business in Johannesburg](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/green-loan-steel-business-johannesburg)
- [renewable power for ferrochrome smelters in South Africa](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/renewable-power-ferrochrome-smelter-south-africa)
- [rooftop solar for factories in Pakistan](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/rooftop-solar-net-metering-pakistan-factories)
- [green loan for a textile business in Karachi](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/green-loan-textile-business-karachi)