Enlit Africa has released its full 2026 conference programme, featuring 280+ speakers across eight focused tracks, including a new African Nuclear 2.0 session covering Koeberg's 20-year life extension and Ghana's nuclear vendor selection process.
The Enlit Africa programme addresses key areas of opportunity and concern in Africa’s energy and water sectors.
The event is scheduled to take place 19 to 21 May 2026 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. More than 7 000 attendees are expected and more than 250 exhibitors will be showcasing their products and services on the exhibition floor, making this Africa's largest gathering of energy and water professionals.
Well-known award-winning business journalist and author Bruce Whitfield will deliver the opening address at the Project & Investment Network Business Breakfast on 19 May, kicking off three days of strategic sessions, deal-making forums, and technical masterclasses.
New programme content includes African Nuclear 2.0 – a dedicated session examining the transition from planning to execution and featuring:
- Koeberg Nuclear Power Station's successful 20-year life extension (Units 1 and 2 now licensed to operate until 2044/2045)
- Ghana's progression to Phase 3 of its nuclear programme, evaluating US, Chinese, and Russian technology bids
- West African Power Pool's 10 GW regional nuclear capacity target
- Small Modular Reactor (SMR) deployment readiness across African grids.
Another new session will focus on Independent Transmission Projects (ITP) – exploring how private investment is unlocking Africa's transmission bottleneck, featuring global case studies from India's PowerGrid and lessons for scaling grid capacity across the continent.
Additionally, Generation Masterclasses will present five interactive roundtables on gas-to-power, nuclear, hydro power, clean coal, and hydrogen.
AI in Africa's Power Grid will examine practical deployment realities, real-time analytics, and predictive maintenance applications already in operation across African utilities.
Conference sessions and technical hub sessions on the expo floor are CPD-accredited by the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE).
Co-located platforms
- Water Security Africa features lessons learned from national and local programmes – from Namibia (55-year potable reuse programme), Uganda (NRW reduction from 42% to 32%), Cape Town (Day Zero recovery strategies) – and sector-specific stewardship sessions with Harmony Gold, Heineken, Mediclinic, and Growthpoint Properties.
- The Project & Investment Network (P&IN), part of the new Level 2 Executive Experience, connects project developers, investors, African utility CEOs, and DFIs through structured matchmaking, ministerial dialogues, and project briefings. Over the past two years, P&IN has facilitated $3 billion in project pitches.
- The Utility CEO Forum brings together 35+ confirmed utility CEOs under The Chatham House Rule for candid, off-the-record strategic discussions on unbundling, prosumer management, and financial sustainability.
- The Municipal Forum addresses South African municipalities' distribution, metering, and revenue challenges, including sessions on NRW management, tariff reform, cost of supply studies, and electrifying informal settlements.
- Technical Hub sessions on the exhibition floor offer free access, CPD-accredited training across Power, Renewable Energy & Storage, and Water tracks, with confirmed speakers from Eskom, ENGIE SA, ACTOM, National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), RenEnergy, and Matla Energy.
Site visits scheduled for 22 May include visits to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station and the V&A Waterfront desalination plant.
For more information or to register, visit: https://wearevuka.com/energy/enlit-africa/
