South Africa accelerates expansion of electricity transmission programme

There has been significant progress in procuring the next generation of South Africa’s energy commission capacity since the National Treasury first announced it was adopting an independent transmission model in 2024.

Following an initial request for pre-qualification in July 2025, in December, electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced that the government had appointed seven international bidders to advance to the next procurement phase.

A request for proposals (RFP) for the first phase ITP is now expected (8 pages / 220KB PDF) to be issued in the second half of 2026. This will require the pre-qualified bidders to submit detailed technical and commercial proposals. The Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) will then take a decision to award the relevant contracts.

The ITP model was launched in June 2024 with the aim of attracting more private sector involvement to accelerate the delivery of new high-voltage transmission infrastructure in South Africa. The programme is being implemented in stages to ensure transparency, bankability, and proper risk allocation.

On announcing the pre-qualified consortia, the government said its approach would create “a fit-for-purpose RFP that reflects market realities, lender expectations, and international best practice”, whilst also supporting the government’s overarching localisation and industrialisation agenda.

By inviting international bidders to take a leading role in this first phase, the government hopes this will support both domestic manufacturing capacity and skills development, as well as strengthen local supply chains “to position South African industry at the centre of the energy transition.”

The ITP is envisaged to become a pioneering public-private initiative, whereby the government will partner with members of the private sector, while private developers will be able to design, finance, build, operate and maintain transmission lines and substations to help South Africa meet its target of constructing approximately 14,000 km of new transmission lines over the next decade.  

A determination under section 34(1)(b) of the Electricity Regulation Act, made on 28 March 2025, identified that 1,164 km of 400kV transmission lines and associated infrastructure will be required to overcome grid constraints across Northern Cape, North-West and Gauteng.

The ITP programme is also regarded as central to unlocking the country’s renewable energy potential by opening new transmission corridors that enable solar, wind, and other clean energy projects to connect to the grid. In doing so, the programme supports national energy security, reduces electricity costs over time, and provides a strategic solution to fiscal constraints and Eskom’s limited balance sheet by inviting large-scale private-sector participation. 

Under this model, private developers could potentially be responsible for the full lifecycle of each project, from early development through to long-term operation, while the government, through the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), maintains overall system oversight.

NTCSA remains the national system operator and long-term grid planner, ensures grid code compliance, manages integration of new assets into the national network, and acts as the buyer under long-term transmission services agreements once assets are operational.

Working closely with the DEE and National Treasury, the NTCSA assists to maintain a stable regulatory environment, mitigate permitting and right-of-way risks, and ensure alignment with South Africa’s transmission development plan – creating the certainty and predictability needed for meaningful private sector investment. 

The seven pre-qualified bidders are expected to build an estimated 8% of South Africa’s required transmission capacity – or around 1,164 km out of 14 500 km – plus associated infrastructure. The minister of electricity and energy has said that the programme will be critical to supporting South Africa’s “long-term economic growth, industrial development and national energy security”.

The government is also developing a credit guarantee vehicle (CGV) in collaboration with the World Bank, to mobilise and leverage both local and international private capital to create bankable structures.