Overview
- The Department of Electricity and Energy and the IPP Office said Bid Window 1 received four bids that together offered more capacity than the 2,000 MW target but none met the RFP’s mandatory gas‑supply assurances so no Preferred Bidders were appointed.
- Bidders could not guarantee fuel delivery because most commercial gas is imported from Mozambique and South Africa currently lacks an operational LNG import terminal to receive and deliver fuel.
- The government said it will treat BW1 as a learning exercise, keep gas‑to‑power in the Integrated Resource Plan, and revise procurement rules, commercial terms and enabling infrastructure before reopening the programme.
- For households there is no immediate change to electricity bills because no gas plants are online and tariffs are set by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa; the setback does, however, delay planned additions of flexible, on‑demand generation.
- The Department will prioritise structured engagement with bidders, equipment makers, lenders and terminal developers and announced that any new procurement and timelines will require statutory approvals and further detail before year‑end.