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Independent Power Producer SolarAfrica will showcase its new suite of virtual power solutions at this year’s Propak Africa trade show.

Launched in 2024, Electricity 2.0 is a game-changer for production, manufacturing and packaging businesses that are in need of cheaper electricity solutions while bringing more green energy into their operations.

Providing relief from rising electricity prices and pressure to go green

Electricity 2.0 offers a simple alternative to traditional power: the ability to replace more of your expensive utility electricity with a cheaper, greener source. Businesses can access several virtual power options, with Wheeling as the first solution available for sign-up. Wheeling allows businesses to buy power directly from SolarAfrica at a tariff that is up to 50% cheaper than Eskom’s. The power will be generated from several solar farms – including the flagship 1 GW SunCentral in the Northern Cape – giving businesses access to more green power than ever before.

Over the short to medium term, more virtual power solutions will come online. This includes further enhancements in energy trading and aggregation options to optimise monthly billing for maximum cost savings. This new virtual power ecosystem offers contract, resource, price and location flexibility for businesses looking to optimise their energy efficiency, monthly cost savings and long-term carbon reduction.

Virtual power, real savings

The company’s virtual suite of solutions addresses the dire need in the commercial and industrial sectors to mitigate increasing electricity tariffs and manage local and international pressures to reduce their carbon footprint.

Electricity tariffs have soared by around 33.8% over the past two years (and 450% since 2008). Although the recent tariff hikes are below what Eskom applied for, the electricity price increase is still in the double digits for 2025 at 12.7%, with 2026 and 2027 bringing 5.36% and 6.19% hikes respectively.

Considering that these tariffs could still be challenged and increased in future, the increased drain that rising prices have on businesses’ profitability mean they need all the support they can get to protect themselves from revenue and job losses.

Thanks to Electricity 2.0, businesses no longer have to rely on a single source of power while their budgets remain at the mercy of utility price increases.

Offering cheaper, greener electricity than ever before

SolarAfrica is giving businesses the opportunity to upgrade from traditional power to the new virtual solutions suite. Propak Africa visitors will have direct access to SolarAfrica’s energy experts on-stand if they want to discuss these solutions in more detail.

In addition to promoting cost savings and carbon reduction, the solutions are fully virtual and require zero physical installation or construction on-site. These solutions are ideal for factories and packaging plants that have limited space for solar and batteries, or face other risks to these energy systems such as dusty operating sites or localised crime.

On-site options can further augment cost and carbon savings

Business owners who prefer having a system on-site can still opt for SolarAfrica’s solar and battery solutions, both available as financed or cash purchase options. The virtual power solutions can also fully integrate with their on-site counterparts, significantly boosting a business’s progress along its green energy journey.

For SolarAfrica, it’s always been about giving business owners the power to choose where they get their power from – and how they can gain the most benefit from it. With the addition of virtual power solutions to their current on site offering, the company now brings even more choice and control to businesses as they navigate South Africa’s uncertain energy and economic landscape.