South Africa has submitted a request for proposals to procure 2, 000 megawatts (MW) of emergency power, following regular power cuts by state-owned power utility, Eskom.
These power cuts have taken the form of scheduled blackouts, known as load shedding, which have resumed in South Africa as the country eased strict lockdown regulations to contain COVID-19. The easing of the regulations has re-opened energy-intensive industries such as mining, in an attempt to boost a fragile economy.
According to The Department of Energy, all power procured under this program, which is expected to attract $2.33 billion of investment, is expected to be fully operational by the end of June 2022.
All bidders would be required to conform to South Africa’s policies which are
formulated to expand economic participation for the black majority as well as to create commitments to job creation and skills development.
Prior to this request, Turkey’s powership firm and one of the world’s largest floating power plant suppliers, Karpowership, announced in February that it had submitted plans for the provision of several ships believed to be efficient in abating South Africa’s power shortages.
This succeeded a request for information that was issued by South Africa in December 2019 to source between 2,000 and 3,000 MW of generation capacity for swift connection at the lowest cost.
