Vodacom’s virtual wheeling platform for renewable energy is live

Details: John Tanner; Category: Energy & Sustainability; 04 September 2025; 5132 views

South African telco Vodacom announced on Wednesday that its virtual wheeling solution is now live, enabling it to purchase renewable energy for its countrywide operations more efficiently and on a broader scale.

Vodacom said it has signed its first power purchase agreement (PPA) using the virtual wheeling solution with independent power producer (IPP) SOLA Group to use renewable energy from its solar plant in Virginia, Free State province.

Vodacom has been working on a virtual wheeling solution since 2023 when it partnered with state-owned power supplier Eskom to develop the mechanism for virtual wheeling. Since then, Vodacom subsidiary Mezzanine has created and piloted an agnostic platform that enables virtual wheeling.

Whereas traditional wheeling arrangements involve a one-to-one relationship between an IPP and an off-taker using the national grid to transport energy, that model didn’t scale for Vodacom’s complex ecosystem over 15,000 low-voltage sites across 168 municipalities.

The solution developed by Mezzanine aggregates energy consumption across multiple consumption points through smart metering. The energy consumption data is then reconciled with the energy generated from an IPP on the virtual wheeling platform to enable companies with complex, distributed, operational footprints to access renewable energy at scale.

Vodacom said this also allows additional renewable capacity to be integrated into the national grid without affecting Eskom's balance sheet.

“Virtual wheeling is a game changer for companies like ours with distributed operations, removing long-standing barriers to access renewable energy,” said Vodacom South Africa CEO Sitho Mdlalose in a statement.

With the solution now live, Vodacom said the platform is ready for adoption by other energy users, and provides a blueprint for other South African companies to follow.

SOLA Group founder and chairman Simon Haw said virtual wheeling helps save energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, contribute to grid stability, and create jobs in the energy sector.

“By enabling large, distributed businesses to access our renewable energy at scale and at lower cost, this innovation not only decarbonises operations but also accelerates the shift to a cleaner, more resilient energy system,” Haw said.