In the face of electronic infrastructures failures on the continent, smart grids appear to be a viable and available solution. Eskom and Huawei have announced their partnership to hasten the development of smart grids in South Africa. This partnserhip concerns the development of solutions based on the IoT, the Cloud and cyber security to create the necessary conditions for the smart grids to be efficient and safe, while producing cheap energy. In this partnership, Huawei relies on its OpenLabs of Johannesburg which consists of a data centre and a dedicated infrastructure whereas Eskom contributes with its expertise in terms of energy.