Why South Africa needs to become an electro-state

THE world is entering a new energy era, one defined by technological mastery. In this emerging reality, the countries that lead will not be those with the largest fossil fuel reserves, it will be those that can produce, store, and use electricity efficiently across every sector of their economies. This is the beginning of the age of electrotech and the rise of what can be called the electro-state.

- THOMAS GARNER

THE electrotech revolution gives South Africa a chance to reindustrialise. The country has exceptional solar and wind resources, says the author.

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An electro-state is a nation whose economy runs primarily on electricity-based technologies rather than on fossil fuels. The shift toward this model is neither ideological nor optional. It is structural, economic, and inevitable. It represents the point where physics, economics, and geopolitics intersect. This transformation is driven by technologies that make it possible for electricity itself to be classified as primary energy.

Previously, primary energy referred to fossil fuels, which had to be converted into steam, heat, fuel or electricity before use. That system is giving way to one in which electricity is both the starting point and the end product of the energy process.

For more than a century, economic growth has depended on finite commodities such as coal, oil, and gas. Each tonne or barrel consumed advanced productivity but deepened dependency. Energy security became synonymous with control over fuel sources, while price was determined by scarcity and geopolitical influence. The electrotech revolution changes this relationship completely.