Business · Energy & Commodities · 1 hr ago
South Africa delays private grid investment tender until 2027
South Africa has delayed a tender that would invite private investors to build electricity transmission lines.
The request for proposals is now expected in the second quarter of 2027, rather than the third quarter of 2026.
The programme is intended to bring investment into the grid and help move electricity from areas where it is generated to where it is needed.
The grid is already limiting the connection of new electricity generation.
Investors will deal with a new transmission operator that is still being established and does not yet have its own balance sheet or credit history.
A credit guarantee vehicle is being prepared to help protect investors from credit risks, and the delay gives institutions time to get the process ready.
The tender’s first phase calls for 1,164 kilometres of new lines, while the transmission company plans 14,500 kilometres by 2034.
The government has not set out a full timetable for choosing bidders and reaching financial close, when construction can begin, and the new grid infrastructure is unlikely to be operating by the end of the decade on the current timeline.
South Africa has delayed the request for proposals for its independent transmission projects programme from the third quarter of 2026 to the second quarter of 2027.
The programme is intended to attract private investment to expand the country’s electricity transmission grid.
The delay was announced on 1 October by the Department of Electricity and Energy and National Treasury.
The article says the pause could help prepare the procurement and manage investor risks, but warns that the overall timetable remains unclear.
The programme’s first phase calls for 1,164km of new transmission lines.
- Who
- The Department of Electricity and Energy and National Treasury announced the delay.
- What
- The request for proposals for private investment in transmission projects was postponed. It is now due in the second quarter of 2027.
- When
- The announcement was made on 1 October 2026.
- Where
- South Africa.
- Why
- The article says a delay is preferable to rushing a procurement that cannot be properly managed or could lead to excessive pricing.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A delay is better than rushing to market with a call for proposals that cannot be properly managed, or that leads to excessive pricing because bidders cannot assess the risks.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- New RFP target
- Second quarter of 2027
- Previous RFP target
- Third quarter of 2026
- First-phase planned lines
- 1,164km
- NTCSA grid plan
- 14,500km in place by 2034
- Credit guarantee vehicle
- Being created by National Treasury, the World Bank, FSD Africa and the Development Bank of Southern Africa
Sources
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