Statistics South Africa said electricity generation fell 5.2% year on year in September 2026, while the volume distributed in the country rose 1.5%.
The agency’s preliminary release, published on 5 November 2026, puts total generation at 17 826 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and distribution at 16 578 GWh. Generation has fallen year on year in every month of 2026, but the September drop is the smallest since the 3.5% fall in February.
Seasonally adjusted generation rose 0.4% from August, after a 0.1% decline in August and a 0.4% decline in July. Compared with the second quarter, seasonally adjusted generation fell 0.4% in the third quarter of 2026.
Distribution turns positive
Stats SA records distribution as electricity consumed in South Africa. It rose 1.5% year on year, after falling in each of the previous eight months of 2026. Adjusted for the season, it fell 0.9% from August, but the third quarter was up 0.4% on the second quarter.
The national electricity supplier generated 14 949 GWh, which is 8.1% less than in September 2025. It distributed 13 765 GWh, down 0.8%. The statistician-general’s release does not name a cause for either movement.
Source: Statistics South Africa, P4141 (September 2026), Table 1. Unadjusted index, base 2019 = 100. Chart: Rand Desk
Imports and exports
Trade with neighbouring grids changed sharply. Inflow into South Africa was 594 GWh, up 78.4% on a year earlier. Outflow was 530 GWh, down 58.8%. By our calculation, that left a net inflow of 64 GWh in September.
Over January to September 2026, inflows were 6 429 GWh against 4 916 GWh in the same months of 2025, an increase of 30.8%. Outflows fell 43.5% to 6 218 GWh. South Africa was a net exporter of 6 095 GWh in the first nine months of 2025 and a small net importer of 211 GWh in 2026, by our calculation from Stats SA’s table.
Power stations and auxiliary systems used 1 312 GWh, which is 13.2% less than a year earlier.
Provinces
Stats SA’s provincial table, which records electricity delivered, shows wide differences. Eastern Cape deliveries rose 13.5% year on year and Limpopo’s rose 9.1%. Northern Cape fell 21.7%. Gauteng, the largest at 4 328 GWh, rose 1.4%, and KwaZulu-Natal, the second largest at 3 085 GWh, fell 1.3%.
The longer view
For the first nine months of 2026, generation was 163 747 GWh, down 6.9% on the 175 941 GWh of January to September 2025. Distribution was 151 586 GWh, down 2.9%.
The September generation index stands at 84.7, with 2019 as 100. That compares with 89.3 in September 2025 and 94.7 in September 2024. Stats SA said the next release, covering October 2026, is expected on 3 December 2026.
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