Calling all independent power producers
28 September 2022
News
In a broadcasted evening address on Monday 25 July, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced widespread changes to the existing arbitrary rules and red tape that have governed the generation of electricity. The country is currently entrenched in its worst load-shedding seen since its inception in April 2008.
In a presentation to opposition parties before his address, he stated that the country needs to “open the floodgates for private investment in new generation capacity”. He went on to add that the overriding priority is to add as much new capacity as possible to the grid in the shortest time possible.
The plan is to add 7,2 GW of capacity within three months, a further 5,7 GW within 12 months and 9,8 GW in 18 months. Therefore, if all goes to plan, we will see a total of 21,7 GW of power being added to the grid within the next year and a half, which would see the current capacity almost doubled.
Some of the major points presented which could have a major impact on the country’s generation capabilities were:
• Boosting the technical skill level at Eskom by actively targeting ex-employees and skilled workers in the private sector.
•Forming a separate body to tackle the theft and sabotage that is currently taking place at Eskom.
•Allowing Eskom to purchase excess power from private producers.
•Easing local requirements to allow renewable power projects that were awarded in fifth bid window to go ahead.
•Importing more power from neighbouring countries.
The arbitrary limit of 100 MW of private generation capacity will be scrapped and IPPs will be allowed to build power plants with unlimited capacity without requiring a licence. The announcement also stated that the amount of renewable energy it procures under the sixth bid window will be doubled to 5,2 GW.
These new measures that are set to be implemented should see an unprecedented surge in the number of private power generation projects.
Further reading:
AGOA: Businesses should diversify or face significant exposure
News
Cross-border payments platform Verto has called on South African and African businesses to accelerate their transition toward a “post-AGOA” trade strategy following President Donald Trump’s signing of a one-year extension to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Read more...
European components distribution growing
News
European electronic components distribution returned to growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to newly released figures from DMASS Europe.
Read more...
Silicon Labs reports strong growth
News
Silicon Labs has reported robust financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, with significant YoY revenue gains and shifting market dynamics.
Read more...
Siemens acquires Canopus AI
ASIC Design Services
News
The acquisition extends Siemens’ comprehensive EDA software portfolio with computational metrology and inspection to help chipmakers solve critical technical challenges in semiconductor manufacturing.
Read more...
Micron breaks ground on new wafer fabs
News
Micron Technology has advanced two major semiconductor manufacturing initiatives that together reflect the company’s strategic response to sustained global demand for memory solutions.
Read more...
Texas Instruments announces planned acquisition of Silicon Labs
News
Texas Instruments Incorporated and Silicon Laboratories recently announced a definitive agreement under which Texas Instruments will acquire Silicon Labs, combining two leaders in semiconductor technology.
Read more...
AI-fueled supercycle doubles memory market revenue
News
The ongoing surge in artificial intelligence is set to propel both the memory and wafer foundry sectors to unprecedented revenue levels by 2026, according to TrendForce.
Read more...
Research agreement for EUV tech
News
Gelest, Inc., a Mitsubishi Chemical Group company, recently announced a research agreement with IBM to test Gelest precursor materials for dry resist EUV lithography.
Read more...
The impact of the global memory shortage on local pricing
News
The ongoing global shortage of memory and storage components is continuing to push up technology prices in South Africa, with local distributors feeling the effects of sustained international demand.
Read more...
Innovative South African electronics system makes overseas debut
News
Pretoria-based electronics company Etion Create is showing a new range of innovative solutions, including cybersecurity systems at the third edition of World Defense Show (WDS2026) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Read more...
printer friendly version