Govt eases energy anti-trust laws to give companies fighting chance

Image credit: Reuters

According to the Minerals Council South Africa, the country's electricity costs have risen by more than 900% since 2008.

Compounded competition

Smelters and steelmakers in Africa's most advanced economy are struggling to survive the impact of high power prices, compounded by competition mainly from China, whose industry enjoys significantly lower electricity costs.

The government is working on a package of measures, including lower tariffs charged by Eskom, to provide relief to the distressed firms.

The new regulations amend the anti-trust law to allow firms to collaborate to "secure back-up or alternative energy supply, reduce energy costs and secure shared or adjacent sites, infrastructure, equipment and facilities".

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South Africa, the world's top producer of chrome ore, also used to be the biggest global producer of ferrochrome, a combination of chrome and iron, but lost that position to China, mostly due to high electricity costs.

Several energy-intensive smelters and furnaces, including ArcelorMittal South Africa's long-steel works and a ferrochrome business partly owned by Glencore, have had to mothball operations and lay off hundreds of workers.

Transalloys, which operates South Africa's last functioning manganese smelter, said on 30 December 2025 it may have to close the plant and cut hundreds of jobs due to high power prices.