Most readers of Electricity + Control in South Africa will be aware of what seems to be a growing number of vehicle recalls – among cars produced locally as well as imported models – with the automakers and the authorities flagging specific safety risks. This raises the question of whether or not highly automated production lines, incorporating robotics, artificial intelligence, and other increasingly sophisticated technologies – might be in some way implicated. The merits of replacing the men or women monitoring and managing the production line with an entirely digital, automated system that is operated remotely, and all the checks similarly controlled by a smart software system rather than by sight or hands-on, must be considered. Could such advanced technologies be contributing to faulty production runs, inaccurate testing of the myriad intricate details that go into ensuring vehicles are manufactured in line with engineered details and are safe and will perform as they are designed to? Or is it the smart, digitally-driven monitoring systems that are picking up faults which would previously have passed undetected? Perhaps some of you among our readers are well placed to answer this question. I for one would be glad to know.

In this March edition of Electricity + Control we feature Industry 4.0 + IIoT, Renewable energy + industrial sustainability, Measurement + instrumentation, and Transformers, substations + the grid.

Here we see the interconnect between the burgeoning use of AI, the accelerating development of data centres, and the growing demand for electricity globally – driven by the demands of data centres as well as rising industrial use, increasing use in other sectors, and the continuing uptake of electric vehicles.   In parallel we see the growing need for modern macro and micro grids that enable the transmission and distribution of electricity to meet this demand, and the measurement and instrumentation that support the fine tuning of performance across all sectors.

In its annual media address Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) flagged South Africa’s deepening national infrastructure maintenance crisis as a matter of critical concern. CESA President, Dr Vishal Haripersad, made the point that the current and worsening infrastructure maintenance backlog results from years of underinvestment, reactive asset management and a growing shortage of engineering skills. The country’s infrastructure challenges are no longer abstract policy concerns, he said, but are being felt daily by citizens, businesses and government [as we all know].

Yet, even in this context, he said,  South Africa has not lost its engineering capability. “Where expertise is respected, where planning is sound, and where maintenance is prioritised, infrastructure still works. Across the country, there are projects where collaboration between engineers, clients, and communities has delivered reliable services, safer systems, and long-term value. These examples remind us that when engineering judgment is central, outcomes improve. The challenge is to replicate this approach at scale.”

As we close out the working year and look back over 2025 there are a few markers worth highlighting. 2025 was the year South Africa hosted the G20, the first on the continent, and successfully so (even if that has been subsequently shadowed with the US taking on the G20 Presidency for 2026). It was the year South Africa extricated itself from FATF grey list – a significant step towards regaining investment grade ratings and encouraging future investment in the economy. And it was the year South Africa managed, for the most part, to move beyond the dark days of load shedding. This is a result of Eskom’s focus, hard work and commitment to implementing its Generation Recovery Plan, alongside other progressive steps, and the huge growth in renewable energy generation, which has added substantially to the country’s generation capacity and has given Eskom the space to pursue the level of maintenance required to renew its aging power stations. (Significantly too, it was the year in which Eskom returned to profitability after many years of reported deficits.) Although stability of supply is not yet where it should be – and transmission and distribution networks, exacerbated by the unresolved issue of municipal debt, present the next challenges along the way – the move beyond load shedding has provided a fundamental step up for industry, for the economy and generally for the level of confidence in the country’s future.

The past month has seen some notable developments in South Africa’s energy sector, signalling fresh momentum. The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced an ambitious Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025 aimed at resolving the country’s longstanding electricity shortfall and jump-starting economic growth. The plan reflects government’s intention to invest R2.2 trillion in a comprehensive energy transformation strategy to ensure the country’s energy demand is met sustainably and cost-effectively. It marks a clear shift in the country’s energy mix, with cleaner energy sources like hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar set to surpass coal for the first time in the nation’s history. In presenting the latest IRP, Ramokgopa said energy and electricity can be a catalyst for growth, re-industrialisation, and building new skills.