Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has announced plans for 9.6GW of new power capacity made up only of battery storage and gas power. The plan includes no new wind or solar and aims to deal with a daytime electricity surplus.
The determination provides for 4.6GW of battery storage and 5GW of gas to power. It falls under section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act. This law lets the minister decide, with the regulator Nersa, what new power must be bought.
“We are sitting with the problem now, as I’m speaking to you. We are seeking to resolve an immediate problem,” Ramokgopa told a briefing in Pretoria on Wednesday, according to TechCentral.
He said it was the first determination under the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, the government’s plan for new power. It brings forward battery storage that the plan had meant to add slowly up to 2035.
The problem is called curtailment. This is when power producers are told to switch off because the grid cannot take their electricity. The minister said Eskom’s recovery and fast growth in private power have left a surplus of more than 4GW on average, mostly during the day.
Private power producers have take or pay contracts. This means the buyer pays for the power whether it uses it or not. The National Transmission Company South Africa must still pay claims for power that producers were told not to deliver.
“So essentially, we are losing electricity, and we are throwing electricity away, and that’s money,” Ramokgopa said. He warned that curtailment would make future private power projects more costly to fund and more likely to fail.
Gav Hurford, acting general manager of the transmission company’s system operator, said the problem grew around April. He said there were days in winter 2026 when up to 3 000MW was switched off. “It is almost a daily routine at this stage,” Hurford said.
The batteries will charge from power that would otherwise be wasted. They will then release it during the evening peak, at sites chosen by the system operator.
Ramokgopa said the battery plan is almost nine times the 513MW bought in the first battery bid window. That round’s five projects drew R15.4 billion in investment. He said the new plan could attract “upwards of R90-billion”.
He said local content rules “will be more ambitious than the last round”. According to the Independent Power Producer Office, the first battery round gave black South Africans 42.3% of shares and local communities 4.4%.
Gas is meant to supply power that can be switched on when wind and solar output falls. The first gas to power bid window is still being assessed.
Ramokgopa admitted there are risks with imported gas. He pointed to price jumps linked to the war in the Middle East and to currency risk. “A generating plant without dependable fuel cannot provide dependable electricity,” he said.
He said Eskom can build about 800km of transmission lines a year, but 1 450km a year is needed. Talks are also under way on using bitcoin mining to soak up extra power. “We’re looking at up to 1-3GW in the next two years,” he said.
A second determination will cover wind and solar, including hybrid projects with storage, as well as pumped storage. A state led power parks programme will follow in the next round.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCentral. Image: TechCentral. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.