By Elena Kachkova in Johannesburg When global telecommunications giant Vodacom signed a virtual wheeling agreement with South Africa’s state-run power utility Eskom in August 2023, it was the first of its kind for the continent’s most industrialised economy. More are certain to follow. Virtual wheeling is seen by Vodacom as South Africa’s solution to grid instability and a catalyst in achieving the country’s decarbonisation goals, Blue Chip Digital, a Cape Town-based financial planning platform, reported on February 8. This pioneering concept allows Vodacom to buy electricity from independent …