Having a small population and a large geographical area to service means power costs were always going to be high.
Even when it had coal fired power, that coal had to be transported long distances . Unlike over east where the power station is adjacent to the coal mine.
When they started the transition to clean energy the renewable industry was in it's infancy. Solar was very expensive. Wind turbines were small. Grid batteries didn't exist.
Now SA is starting to see the fruits of that investment. Wholesale power prices have fallen. Technology has largely caught up. Engie is about to decommission a couple of peakers because they are losing money. Before too long the Project Energy Connect will be complete and SA will really be able to take advantage of it.
As to customers in SA , there has been a lot going on behind the scenes to test new innovations for virtual grids and utilizing behind the meter resources. Here's a link to a report on that subject.
