Cape Town – Africa’s transmission and distribution infrastructure crisis will be at the heart of a major continental energy conference coming to Cape Town, South Africa, next year, with organisers warning that new generation capacity alone cannot solve the continent’s deepening power challenges.
The T&D Africa Conference and Expo, an official side event of the Africa Energy Indaba 2027, will take place from 2 to 4 March 2027 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The event will bring together utilities, grid operators, project developers, investors, technology providers, and policymakers to accelerate the financing, construction, and modernisation of transmission and distribution networks across the continent.
Organisers say the core problem is clear: while new generation projects attract attention and investment, the real obstacle to Africa’s energy future is the grid infrastructure needed to move that power from where it is produced to where it is needed. 
“Generation without delivery is just potential,” organisers said. “T&D Africa 2027 is the strategic platform where the projects, partnerships, and investment decisions that will build Africa’s power grid backbone are made.”
South Africa’s own transmission crisis illustrates the scale of the challenge. The country’s Transmission Development Plan for 2025 to 2034 calls for the construction of approximately 14,500 kilometres of new transmission lines and 210 new transformers, delivering around 133,000 MVA of additional capacity. The programme requires R112 billion in approved funding over the next five years, as part of a broader R440 billion investment over the decade. This represents a fivefold increase in delivery pace compared to the previous ten years and is essential to integrate up to 56 GW of new generation capacity, much of it from renewable energy sources.
The National Transmission Company of South Africa and the newly launched Independent Transmission Programme are opening the door to private sector participation to speed up delivery.
Beyond South Africa, the conference will tackle the broader question of regional grid connectivity across the continent. Organisers say robust interconnections through the Southern African Power Pool and other regional power pools are critical to unlocking cross-border electricity trade, integrating large-scale renewable resources, improving energy security, reducing technical losses, and supporting industrial growth under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
For Eswatini and other smaller economies in the Southern African region, stronger regional transmission infrastructure could ease dependence on costly electricity imports and improve supply reliability for households and businesses alike.
The conference programme will feature high-level policy discussions on grid modernisation, smart infrastructure, and financing models, as well as focused sessions on high-voltage direct current technology, substations, digitalisation, renewable integration, and regional interconnectors. An exhibition showcasing transmission and distribution technologies and a dedicated business-to-business networking programme will also form part of the event.
The conference is targeted at transmission utilities and grid operators, independent power producers, technology providers, investors, development finance institutions, EPC contractors, and government ministries and regulators.
