South Africa has taken a decisive step toward rebuilding its overstretched electricity network, pre-qualifying seven international consortia to bid for a transmission expansion valued at about $25 billion.
The programme targets the national grid—the system that moves electricity from where it is generated to where it is used. It has become the country’s tightest constraint.
Power plants, especially renewables, cannot connect at scale without new lines, substations, and transformers. Fixing generation without fixing transmission no longer works.
Among the shortlisted bidders is the Middle East power unit of Adani Group, founded by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
The list also includes major European and Chinese utilities, notably France’s Electricité de France, China’s State Grid International Development, and China Southern Power Grid International. Their presence reflects the size of the opportunity and the strategic weight of the project.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced the shortlist in Pretoria on December 15, describing the expansion as central to strengthening the country’s electricity backbone.
The government views the programme as a way to restore system reliability, support industrial activity, and draw private capital into infrastructure that the state cannot fund alone.
The first phase will invite bids to build roughly 1,164 kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines. These are intended to connect more than 3,000 megawatts of additional generation capacity to the grid. Later phases are expected to be larger, involving extensive investment in transformers, substations, and network reinforcement across multiple provinces. Transmission sits at the centre of South Africa’s energy transition.
The country remains dependent on ageing coal-fired stations, many of which are scheduled for retirement. Replacing that capacity with renewables, gas, and other sources requires a grid capable of moving power from new production zones to demand centres. Without it, new generation remains stranded.
This is why the project has drawn global interest. Grid infrastructure offers long-duration assets, regulated returns, and system-level influence. For South Africa, it offers a way to unlock capacity already planned but not yet usable.
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Alongside the transmission shortlist, Ramokgopa also confirmed the selection of four preferred bidders under the latest round of the renewable energy procurement programme. The two moves are linked. New power projects only matter if the grid can absorb them.
Together, they signal a shift in emphasis—from announcing capacity targets to rebuilding the physical systems that make electricity usable.
The contest ahead will not only decide who builds South Africa’s next generation of transmission assets. It will shape how risk, control, and long-term returns are shared in one of the continent’s most constrained and consequential power systems.