Southern African countries diesel generators market on upward trajectory
Diesel generators, ranging from a few kilowatts to a few thousand kilowatts are common in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The market opportunity for diesel generators in five selected Southern African countries has been identified by a survey by Reportbuyer, a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports.
One of the major reasons for diesel generators in the developed world is for backup purposes. When a problem strikes the national utility and the power cuts, many businesses may find themselves using a backup generator to continue operations.
This is especially true for hospitals and other vital components of society. This is known as backup purpose. While many homes and companies may incorporate backup generators in the developing world, the primary reason for purchasing a backup generator is for base load or prime use. The reason behind this is that SSA, excluding the island states, does not have a single country that is 100% electrified.
This is true for the major business hubs as the power supply is infrequent and especially true for rural Africa. The residential, commercial, and industrial sectors commonly purchase one or two generators to keep their operations on-going and do not trust the government to perform this duty.
South Africa is different in that it is relatively electrified. The high level of generation capacity means that South Africa exports reasonable amount of power to its neighbouring countries to add to their low capacity.
In 2015, however, South Africa experienced widespread power outages which resulted in all Southern African states mentioned in this report experiencing subsequent outages of their own. This boosted the diesel generator market in 2015 as homes, businesses, and industries quickly made alternative arrangement for electrification.
The following year, the expected stabilisation of the South Africa grid witnessed the import of generator fall dramatically. While the market in South Africa will be low, the other markets are forecast to keep their demand high while they struggle to increase electrification rates.
Leading up to 2015, diesel generator volumes peaked at 14,123 units bringing in USD 344.8 million into the region. This was a 40% increase in sales compared to the previous year. However, as the region is expected to witness stability over the next 4 years, revenue will register a decrease of 31% to USD 199.1 million.
It must be noted that this drop is due to the extreme outlier that is 2015. The market will continue to experience favourable growth in South Africa's neighbouring countries until 2019.
