Dr Jessika Bohlmann
Image: Supplied
Professor Roula Inglesi-Lotz
Image: Supplied
May marks National Energy Month in South Africa, and discussions around the country’s energy future continue to focus on speed: how quickly can renewable energy be rolled out; how fast can emissions be reduced; how rapidly can new investments unlock growth and jobs?
But perhaps the more important question is not whether South Africa is moving fast enough but whether the country is moving together.
People often talk about energy transitions as technical changes, like swapping one energy source for another, upgrading infrastructure, or adding cleaner technologies. But these changes aren’t just technical. They also affect people, institutions, and communities in different ways and at different times.
That’s why the idea of a “just-in-time” energy transition matters. In manufacturing and logistics, “just in time” means making sure parts arrive exactly when needed – not too early or too late. For South Africa’s energy transition, this idea is a reminder that change shouldn’t be too slow, but it also can’t move faster than people and society can handle.
If the transition is too slow, South Africa could face ongoing energy problems, additional environmental issues, and missed economic growth opportunities. But if the transition is rushed without proper planning, it could cause other problems, like people losing jobs with no new options, institutions struggling to keep up, communities being left out of decision-making, and more pushback against the changes.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply speed – it’s timing.
South Africa’s energy transition is already demonstrating what can happen when systems aren’t in sync. Investment in renewable energy may accelerate, but grid expansion may lag. New technologies require different skills, but training programmes may not keep pace with the job market. National policies may change quickly, while local governments may lack sufficient resources, leading to uneven progress across different areas.
At the community level, the effects are even more visible. For households already facing high energy and fuel prices, high unemployment, or a lack of access to reliable energy, the change can feel less like an opportunity and more like additional uncertainty. When people resist the energy transition, it isn’t necessarily that they resist change; it’s a way of expressing deeper insecurity and the feeling that change is happening around them rather than with them.
When these parts are aligned, transitions begin to flow. Momentum builds because institutions, infrastructure, skill systems, technologies, and communities move together. Trust grows when people experience the transition as participatory and responsive to their conditions. But when alignment breaks down, friction emerges.
Delays in one area are propagated through the system, slowing progress elsewhere and weakening confidence in the transition. Skills development may arrive too late for displaced workers. Infrastructure expansion may lag behind investment commitments. Communities may be consulted only after decisions have already been made.
South Africa’s energy future won’t be shaped only by technology or finance. It will also be formed by timing, sequencing, coordination, and trust.
Energy Month 2026 offers an opportunity to reflect not only on where the country is going but also on how it’s getting there. The debate should not be framed as a choice between moving faster or slower.
Instead, South Africa should aim for an energy transition that is “just in time”: responsive enough to address urgent energy and climate challenges, while coordinated enough to ensure that people, institutions and communities can transition alongside the system itself.
A just energy transition is not about achieving a destination. It means ensuring that society can move with the transition, rather than constantly trying to catch up.
Professor Roula Inglesi-Lotz and Dr Jessika Bohlmann from the Energy Economics Research Unit (EERU) and the DSTI/NRF SARChI Chair in Just Energy Transition at the University of Pretoria