Number Of The Day | 6 | 17 August 2026
6 is today’s Number of the Day. Eskom has gone from years of electricity shortages to having as much as six gigawatts of surplus capacity, creating an unexpected new problem: what should South Africa do with all that spare power? One answer could be data centres, with President Cyril Ramaphosa saying 55 facilities have already been built and more than R50 billion in investment is expected over the next three years. (Eskom)
Francis Herd unpacks why the AI boom could make that opportunity much bigger, and much more complicated. Data centres need enormous amounts of reliable electricity, which means attracting global technology companies could create valuable new demand for Eskom while also locking in future power commitments. The question is no longer simply whether South Africa has enough electricity. It is how much of today’s surplus should be committed before we know what tomorrow’s grid will need.
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Chapter List
(00:00) Eskom Goes From Power Shortage to 6GW Surplus
(00:53) What Should South Africa Do With the Extra Power?
(01:25) Data Centres and South Africa’s R50bn Investment Opportunity
(01:48) The $1.15 Trillion Global AI Infrastructure Rush
(02:29) How Much Electricity Do Data Centres Need?
(02:46) What If South Africa Runs Short of Power Again?
(03:19) The Power and Water Risks Behind Data Centres
(04:07) Should Eskom Use Its Surplus to Chase the AI Boom?
