File
The government will be releasing four more requests for proposals for new power generation projects during the course of the year.
Writing in his weekly column on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said this is expected to add over 7 000 megawatts of electricity to the grid.
His announcement comes after the country endured another round of load shedding for more than a week and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy announcing the companies that had successfully bid to supply 2 000 megawatts of emergency power to fill the energy gap.
“The electricity shortage has been a problem for more than a decade, with economic activity being severely interrupted every time there is a power cut, affecting smaller businesses and large industries alike. Over the years, it has contributed to slow economic growth and weak investor confidence,” Ramaphosa said.
He said resolving the country’s energy challenges was not just “urgent” but fundamental to South Africa’s economic recovery. “That is why we are making every effort to bring new power generation capacity online in the shortest possible time.”
Ramaphosa said that the power that will come from independent suppliers will be produced from a range of sources including solar, wind, liquified natural gas, and battery storage.
“These projects will involve an investment of around R45 billion by the private sector. Around half of all the materials used in the construction will be locally sourced. The projects should be providing power to the nation by August next year,” he said.
He said last week, the government also released a request for proposals for the procurement of a further 2,600 megawatts of renewable energy.
“This is the fifth ‘bid window’ in the country’s highly successful programme to buy renewable energy from independent power producers. This programme has led to significant private investment in the country’s energy infrastructure, and is an important part of our commitment to move towards cleaner energy sources,” Ramaphosa said.
He said these new sources of electricity are vital to ensure a reliable supply of energy into the future.
