Pretoria: Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has announced that the government will pursue private investment for the construction of transmission lines through the Independent Transmission Programme (ITP). The Minister made the announcement of the new programme during a media briefing, held in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
According to South African Government News Agency, the pilot programme for the ITP aims to construct 1,164 kilometers of new transmission lines to support renewable energy projects. Ramokgopa highlighted that the current transmission constraints limit the full exploitation of renewable energy assets. He pointed out that both Eskom’s and the sovereign balance sheets are insufficient to support the necessary investments in this area.
“In terms of the transmission development plan.we will need to modernize and expand transmission by about 14,000km and for us to be able to do this, we need about R440 billion. The State is not in a position to provide that kind of support. So, today we are introducing the independent transmission programme,” Ramokgopa said.
A ministerial determination has been issued to create a framework allowing private sector participation. “Our view is that there’s a need for us to be able to ensure that we are able to accelerate and support transmission infrastructure development,” he added, noting the importance of unlocking capacity in the Cape provinces, where efficient solar and wind energy resources are concentrated.
Ramokgopa emphasized that procurement for transmission will focus on cost-effectiveness, with regulations to be issued Thursday. “The Ministry is the one mandated to procure and then the NTCSA [National Transmission Company of South Africa] is the party that buys that. We are going to ensure that we procure the most cost-effective and tendering procedures that are fair, competitive, and equitable,” he stated.
The new transmission lines are expected to add at least 3,000 megawatts of energy to the grid. “The new generation capacity that we are going to unlock as a result of this intervention is 3,222 MW. It is about 63% of the total capacity of Medupi and Kusile [power stations]. We are moving in the right direction,” Ramokgopa said.
To facilitate this initiative, a Request for Qualification will be issued in July, followed by a Request for Proposals in November. The move is anticipated to address South Africa’s structural constraints in electricity and logistics, providing a prime opportunity for economic transformation and growth.