Is 80% Of South Africa’s Electricity Imported From Mozambique?
On April 28, 2026, a Facebook user, RantHQ Extention Plus, claimed that 80 percent of electricity enjoyed in South Africa is gotten from Mozambique. The post is seen below
When this report was published, the post had 123 reactions, comments and shares.
VERIFICATION
South Africa remains one of Africa’s largest electricity producers and generates most of its power from domestic coal-fired stations, supplemented by nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and imported electricity. The country’s electricity system has historically been largely self-sufficient, although it participates in regional power trading through the Southern African Power Pool.
Since 1979, South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, has purchased electricity from Mozambique’s Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), which operates the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam. Because Eskom buys a significant share of the electricity produced by the Cahora Bassa dam, some people mistakenly assume that most of South Africa’s electricity supply comes from Mozambique.
According to a statement by Mozambique’s former Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Pedro Couto, electricity imported from Mozambique accounts for less than 3% of South Africa’s total electricity consumption, not 80%. More recent data corroborates this. In 2024, Eskom imported about 7,570 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, largely from Mozambique, while exporting 14,532 GWh to neighboring countries. South Africa remained a net exporter of electricity during the year.
66% of Cahora Bassa’s electricity was sold to Eskom, but that imported power represented only a small fraction of South Africa’s overall electricity consumption.
CONCLUSION
The claim that 80% of South Africa’s electricity consumption is from Mozambique, is MISLEADING. According to Mozambique’s former Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Pedro Couto, electricity imported from Mozambique accounts for less than 3% of South Africa’s total electricity consumption, not 80%.
