Johannesburg - South Africa plans to publish before the end of the year the process for independent power producers bidding to build new coal-fired generation capacity.
“We are currently finalizing the coal-procurement documents,” the Energy Department said yesterday in an e-mailed reply to questions. “We are expecting the bidders to bid the tariff and provide us with the estimated project cost.”
Africa’s second-biggest economy is struggling with a power grid under strain, leading to controlled blackouts this year. In April, then Minister of Energy Ben Martins announced additional infrastructure projects including 2500 megawatts of coal-fired power.
“The bidders are expected to raise their own capital for the construction of the plant and Eskom will pay only for the energy produced,” the department said. “We will have sight of the total project cost at bid submission but it is premature to speculate on the price and the project cost at this stage.”
Bloomberg