In a consequential move to unlock SA’s just transition, minister of electricity and energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has kick-started the process to procure about 1,164km of 400KV transmission lines in the Northern Cape, North West and Gauteng.
The newly established National Transmission Company of SA (NTCSA) will be the buyer of the key infrastructure as the government ramps up its reform of the network industries in an environment where funding from the US is uncertain.
In a government notice on Friday, Ramokgopa said in consultation with Nersa and National Treasury he had determined that new electricity transmission infrastructure is required to ensure “optimal” electricity supply.
The notice said the procurer in respect of those tendering procedures will be the department of electricity & energy or any entity mandated by the minister, as the procurer.
“The role of the procurer will be to conduct one or more tendering procedures, including preparing any requests for proposals and/or related and associated documentation, drafting the transmission service agreements and other applicable agreements,” reads the notice.
“The transmission infrastructure procured under this determination must be procured from independent transmission providers.”
The NTCSA began officially trading a year ago with the ambition to build 14,000km of new transmission lines in the next decade with a price tag of about R400bn.
In the past decade, it added only 4,400km of new transmission lines.
The 14,000km of extra-high-voltage lines will be to accommodate new, mostly renewable, generation capacity.
SA’s grid capacity has been a major obstacle to the transition to renewables and to fixing load-shedding
The establishment of the NTSCA is part of government’s efforts to restructure Eskom into separate divisions for generation, transmission and distribution.
The determination by Ramokgopa comes just weeks after the Trump administration withdrew from the Just Energy Transition (JET) partnership with SA as diplomatic relations between the two countries worsen.
The US’s withdrawal has reduced SA’s total international JET pledges from $13.8bn to $12.8bn. However, all indications show SA is unfazed and is forging ahead with its just transition blueprint.
Cabinet last week approved the SA Renewable Energy Master Plan. Some of the features of the master plan include increasing the pace of rolling out renewable energy projects with the target of at least 3-5 GW of renewable energy generation annually.
The reforms in the energy sector are being implemented alongside those in the logistics sector — with private sector players set to play a prominent role in both.
Minister of transport Barbara Creecy in December approved the publication of the Transnet network statement, a major step in facilitating open access to the country’s rail network by third-party operators — a move welcomed by the business community and industry players.
Creecy followed up with a request for information to assess market interest in potential private sector participation in investments in selected rail and port infrastructure and operations.
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