Investor rush builds for Botswana’s energy sector
Lewanika Timothy | Monday August 24, 2026 06:00
Last week, in a podcast interview with journalist Spencer Mogapi, Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe said Botswana was receiving unparalleled expressions of interest in energy, surpassing interest in any other sector, with investors standing ready with cash to pour into the country’s power generation industry.
However, Ndaba said the surge in investor appetite comes against the backdrop of transmission grid constraints that have stood in the way of unlocking new investment.
“Botswana has been going around the world calling for investors to come and invest, and if there is a sector that now has more investors than we are able to take, and by investors I mean ready with cash, is the energy sector in relation to power generation.” “However, the constraint is the sector itself. “We don't have the transmission capacity which is required to export,” he said.
Government has over the years been negotiating independent power purchase agreements with players in the private sector, opening up the sector to private capital to assist the struggling Botswana Power Corporation. The power utility in the past enjoyed a market monopoly over generation, transmission, and distribution of power. Since then, the country has seen increased generation of power, particularly from solar energy.
According to Statistics Botswana figures, in the first quarter, electricity generation figures show that solar plants produced 82,519.96 megawatt-hours (MWh), accounting for 9.1 percent of total domestic electricity generation.
The output marks a sharp increase from the 16,713MWh generated in the corresponding quarter of 2025, when solar contributed just 3.2 percent of local electricity production. This happened as the country onboarded solar power into the main grid from private generation sites selling to BPC.
The push to open the power sector to greater private-sector participation comes as Botswana continues to import electricity at “exorbitant prices”, placing a growing burden on the public purse.
Government has over the years spent billions purchasing power from neighbouring power utility Eskom, alongside buying from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Gaolathe said the cost to government could rise to as much as P3 billion this year alone, through power subsidies.
The mounting cost has become a major concern for government, with BPC's reliance on expensive imports continuing to drain public resources.
“In terms of subsidies, this year alone we will probably pay up to P3 billion because we are importing power at exorbitant rates,” Gaolathe said.
He added that the country’s continued dependence on imported power was increasingly difficult to justify given Botswana's abundant solar resources and the falling cost of renewable energy.
“Botswana has one of the highest, actually top three solar radiations in the world. “The technology now, the solar technology now, is such that some of the best generation companies can generate power at 4.5 US cents per kilowatt hour, some even as low as four. “But now we are paying upwards of 10,” he said.
Gaolathe further added that if the country gets its energy sector right, it could be a potential revenue earner since the region was also plagued by energy shortages.