South Africa’s National Transmission Company (NTCSA) is paying independent power producers (IPPs) for electricity, amounting to roughly R45 billion a year, according to reporting. The same reports say that additional curtailment claims—where power is not taken despite generation arrangements—total around R2 billion generated in a few months.
The outlets frame the issue as a potential cost pressure that could flow through to consumers via electricity tariffs. One outlet highlights that the scale of curtailment-related claims is significant relative to the broader payments already being made to IPPs. In this framing, the financial impact arises from paying for contracted electricity while also facing disputes or compensation related to curtailed supply.
While both sources describe the same figures and concern, the emphasis is slightly different: the Moneyweb piece focuses on the idea of “buying nothing” through payments that persist even when output is curtailed, while The Citizen repeats the core calculation and links it more directly to the likelihood of tariff effects. Both agree the reported curtailment claims have emerged quickly, suggesting a near-term strain on costs.
