WeeklySA_AdminENERGY: Five groupings chosen after a rigorous selection process expected to make a total investment of R9.5 billion into the South African economy…
By Own Correspondent
In an ongoing effort to ensure energy security and reduce the cost of electricity, Electricity and Energy Minister, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has announced the appointment of five preferred bidders to help Eskom tackle South Africa’s long-running electricity crisis.
The process, proclaimed under the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) Bid Window 3, attracted 33 bidders, with only five making the final cut. These preferred bidders are expected to make a total investment of R9.5 billion into the South African economy.
The Battery Energy Storage Programme is a critical initiative aimed at enhancing South Africa’s power system by providing essential ancillary services and increasing grid capacity through energy storage.
“What we are announcing today… is another ‘peaker’ that is going to help us during the peak, instead of relying more and more on the open cycle gas turbines and on burning diesel.
“We are going to use that excess generation capacity that we generated during the day when the sun was out … we store it and at the time when we need it, draw it. We are going to draw it from the batteries and [it will] be discharged and give us the kind capacity that we need. We are working on ensuring that we have additional generation capacity drawing from the technology that is out there in the world,” Ramokgopa said at a media briefing on Friday.
BESIPPPP Bid Window 3 is a site-specific procurement round designed to facilitate the procurement of up to 616 megawatts (MW) from facilities that will provide capacity, energy and ancillary services to the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) as the buyer, at five specified sites in the Free State supply area.
“This is part of our quest to ensure that we achieve energy security, bring down the cost of electricity – because this solution has been shown to be the most cost competitive of the energy solutions that we can have.
“A combination of solar BPV [biological photovoltaics], wind and now storage capacity means that we are flattening the cost curve of electricity. We will make household lives more bearable – disposable income and more significantly for industry.
“Electricity is the backbone of the economy. If the lights are off, there is no economy.”
The department received a total of 33 bid responses on 28 November 2024.
The BESIPPPP BW3 round was again found to be highly competitive, with a marked increase in the number of bids relative to the previous bid windows, resulting in a 40% and 8% decrease in the average evaluation Price, compared to Bid Window 1 and 2 prices respectively.
The five preferred bidders have made the following commitments:
• Black Shareholding: will contract at a minimum of 40% in the IPP Project Companies; up to 30% black shareholding by construction contractors; and up to 42% in operations contractors.
• Total Job Opportunities: 852 job opportunities for South African citizens (measured in job years), during construction and operations.
• Local Content Spend: Over R3.7 billion during construction and during the operation and maintenance phases.
• Preferential Procurement: Over R3 billion from Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) companies, R1.3 billion from black-owned enterprises, R1.1 billion from Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSEs) and Exempted Micro Enterprises (EMEs) as well as R562 million from black women companies.
• Supplier development, skills development, bursaries for black students, skills development for Black disabled people, enterprise development and socio-economic development initiatives: R184 million over the lifetime of the projects.
Meanwhile, the power system was stable and continues to demonstrate resilience, according to an Eskom statement today.
“System constraints remain and adequate emergency reserves are in place and strategically deployed to support demand during the morning and evening peak winter period.
“Kusile Unit 1 is officially back online today, following its successful reconnection to the repaired flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system and permanent stack, which had been out of service since 31 March 2025. Once ramped up to full capacity, this unit will contribute 800MW back to the national grid and further improve the Energy Availability Factor (EAF).
“Once Unit 1 reaches full capacity, the station will deliver its total combined output of 4 800MW to the national grid” Eskom added.
A total of 2 930MW of generation capacity was expected to be returned to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, to further stabilise the grid. – SAnews, Weekly SA Mirror
MIRROR Briefs
APARTHEID-ERA CRIMES PROBED
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a proclamation for the establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry – to be chaired by retired Constitutional Court Judge Sisi Khampepe – to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. The Presidency said Khampepe would be assisted by retired Northern Cape Judge President, Frans Diale Kgomo and Adv. Andrea Gabriel SC.
The establishment of the commission of inquiry is part of an agreement reached in settlement discussions in a court application brought by families of victims of apartheid-era crimes. “For many years, there have been allegations of interference in these cases. This alleged interference is seen as the cause of an unacceptable delay in the investigation and prosecution of brutal crimes committed under apartheid. This has caused the families of victims great anguish and frustration.
“All affected families – and indeed all South Africans – deserve closure and justice. A commission of inquiry with broad and comprehensive terms of reference is an opportunity to establish the truth and provide guidance on any further action that needs to be taken,” Ramaphosa said.
The commission must inquire into, make findings, report on and make recommendations on, amongst others, whether, why, to what extent and by whom attempts were made to influence members of the SAPS authority not to investigate or prosecute cases identified by the TRC. – SAnews
ALLEGED STUDENT KILLER NABBED
A few hours after the main suspect wanted for the murder of Olorato Mongale was shot and killed during a shootout with police in the early hours of Friday morning, another suspect handed himself over to the police at the KwaMashu police station, according to the police. The latest development came just hours after police launched a manhunt and named three dangerous suspects in the kidnapping and murder of the 30-year-old Master’s student from the University of Witwatersrand, who went missing on Sunday. Her body was later found dumped in Lombardy, north of Johannesburg.
Police identified three suspects in Mongale’s murder as Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya, Fezile Ngubane and Bongani Mthimkulu . Makhanya was located by police at a residential complex in Amanzimtoti, Durban in the early hours of Friday morning where he was killed in a shootout with the police. Another suspect, Ngubane handed himself over to the police on Friday afternoon. Mthimkulu was still on the run at the time of gong to press. The police had also taken in one of the parents for questioning after it was allegedly established that she had helped her son evade arrest.
The three suspects had been linked to other crimes as several women had since come forward with information implicating them. – Lehlohonolo Lehana.
FARISANI PASSES ON
President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his deep sadness at the passing of theologian, former Member of Parliament and former Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, Dr Tshenuwani Simon Farisani. He was 76 years old. Ramaphosa offered his condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Dr Farisani who was a co-founder, alongside the President and the late Tshifhiwa Isaac Muofhe, of the Black Evangelic Youth Organisation in the early 1970s.
“Farisani has left us as part of a succession of stalwarts who have passed on recently and whose dedication to our freedom and national development demands both our mourning and reflection. He preached the gospel of humanity and liberation in ways that energised our struggle and shook the apartheid regime into targeting him and depriving him of his personal freedom.” He was a Lutheran minister who fought apartheid from the pulpit and was arrested for his activism in the Black Consciousness movement and the Black People’s Convention, where he was a close associate of Steve Bantu Biko.
“From the pulpit of his congregations in Venda and the then Transvaal, to the podiums of Parliament and the Speaker’s chair in Limpopo, Dr Farisani’s commanding baritone oratory conveyed his love for humanity and his fearless, sacrificial fight for our freedom. – SAnews.
POSTBANK SCAM WARNING
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant beneficiaries using the black Postbank cards as well as the gold SASSA cards have been urged to be wary of rising fraud scams targeting their cards and PIN information. Postbank, in a statement, said a recent scam involved fraudsters impersonating Postbank officials and targeting social beneficiaries in their homes.
“The beneficiaries are then duped into handing over their Postbank grant cards and PIN information under the pretext that there is something that requires fixing on the cards; or fear is instilled in them that they will not receive their future grant payments if they don’t handover their cards PIN information.
“Postbank assures social grant beneficiaries that there is nothing that requires fixing on any of its black cards and SASSA gold cards, and that both cards will continue to work beyond 31 May 2025 for the payments of their grants’’.
Beneficiaries must be wary of fraudsters who may pretend that they were from Postbank, even if they were wearing what may appear to be Postbank uniforms or branded cars. They show up unannounced or without an appointment and ask for your card PIN number.
If fraudsters pretending to be from Postbank visited your home alert Postbank on 0800 53 54 55. –SAnews
