South Africa’s public electricity utility Eskom is considering a new way to use excess daytime power: offering discounted electricity to Bitcoin mining companies operating in the country. The proposal comes as rooftop solar installations spread across homes and businesses, changing when and how much electricity consumers draw from the national grid.
At the 2026 Biznews Conference in Hermanus, Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati said the utility is reviewing options to monetize surplus electricity generated in the middle of the day. According to his remarks, South Africa’s daily power-demand pattern is becoming easier to predict. Demand rises sharply early in the morning as households prepare for work and businesses open, but later falls once rooftop solar systems begin generating enough electricity for self-consumption.
That shift matters for Eskom because it leaves the company with unused generation capacity during solar-heavy hours. In the past, utilities mainly focused on serving broad system demand across the day. Now, distributed solar is reducing daytime dependence on the grid. When enough customers produce their own electricity, Eskom can be left with power that is available but not fully purchased.
Bitcoin mining has emerged as one possible solution. Mining firms typically run large data centers filled with specialized machines performing energy-intensive computations that help secure the Bitcoin network. These operations require significant and often continuous electricity supply, making them potential buyers of surplus generation, especially if pricing is attractive during periods of lower grid demand.
Nyati said industries such as Bitcoin mining are contributing to higher electricity demand globally. In his view, this kind of technology did not exist in the same way two decades ago, but it has now become a growing source of power consumption. For Eskom, selling electricity to miners during hours of excess supply could turn otherwise underused power into revenue.
Bitcoin mining opportunities in South Africa
The concept also builds on earlier comments from Eskom chief executive Dan Marokane, who said the state-owned utility is examining opportunities linked not only to Bitcoin mining but also to artificial intelligence infrastructure and large-scale data centers. While these sectors differ in purpose, they share a critical commercial feature: they all need substantial and reliable electricity supply.
From Eskom’s perspective, that makes them attractive sources of demand. Bitcoin mining facilities and AI data centers can consume large amounts of power over extended periods rather than only at brief peak times. If Eskom were to introduce time-sensitive pricing or discounted electricity during solar-heavy hours, it could improve utilization of its generation fleet while giving energy-intensive customers a reason to locate or expand in South Africa.
Nyati presented the initiative as part of a broader effort to respond to structural changes in the country’s electricity market. South Africa’s power sector is increasingly opening to private investment, allowing independent companies to build generation capacity and compete in electricity distribution. At the same time, rooftop solar adoption continues to shift part of electricity demand away from the national grid.
Because of that, Nyati said Eskom must adapt if it wants to remain viable in a more competitive environment. In this context, discounted power for Bitcoin miners is not just a narrow industry offer. It reflects a wider strategy to attract new classes of flexible, high-consumption customers that can help stabilize revenue as traditional daytime demand weakens.
Eskom is also pursuing cost reductions alongside new revenue strategies. Nyati said the utility plans to eliminate roughly R112 billion in expenses over the next five years. That target indicates that the company is trying to address more than temporary load shifts. It is also working on long-term efficiency, financial resilience, and competitiveness.
If those cost cuts are achieved, they could help reduce electricity prices for both households and energy-intensive industries, including mining and smelting. In an economy where industrial users play a major role, electricity pricing has direct implications for production costs and competitiveness. Eskom’s strategy therefore combines two parallel goals: finding new buyers for excess electricity and lowering its own cost base.
Even with rapid changes in the energy landscape, Nyati argued that South Africa still needs a strong national utility. He said Eskom’s coal and nuclear power stations continue to provide the baseload electricity required to support industrial growth and broader economic development. In other words, the rise of distributed solar does not remove the need for stable large-scale generation.
More broadly, Eskom’s proposal shows how utilities are beginning to view flexible electricity consumers as tools for balancing supply and demand in an evolving power system. Bitcoin miners, AI infrastructure operators, and large data centers are no longer seen only as heavy users of electricity. Under the right pricing structure, they can also function as demand-side balancing resources by absorbing power when supply is abundant. If South Africa’s market design and tariff structure move in that direction, the country could open a new chapter for domestic Bitcoin mining while helping Eskom make better use of midday solar-era surpluses.