LE BRIEF

South Africa: no bidder selected in procurement for 2,000 MW of gas-fired power plants

LE BRIEF • 2026-10-29

Four bids offered 2,830 MW, but none met the mandatory criteria, particularly gas-supply assurances. The process closes without capacity awarded, not with the withdrawal of power plants already operating.

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LE BRIEF — Thursday, 29 October 2026 edition By the LE BRIEF newsroom Country : South Africa Source publication: 28 October 2026 Event : Government announcement of the first GASIPPPP bid-window outcome on 28 October 2026. Power station: supplied illustrative photograph. It does not depict a plant awarded through this procurement. South Africa’s government announced on Wednesday, 28 October 2026 that the first bid window of its Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, GASIPPPP, had closed without awards. The procurement sought 2,000 megawatts of new generation capacity. Four proposals totalling 2,830 MW were received. None met the mandatory functional criteria, according to the Department of Electricity and Energy led by Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. No preferred bidder was therefore appointed and no capacity was awarded. Gas supply is a central obstacle Bidders were required to provide the fuel-supply assurances needed for future plant operation. The department says none provided assurances at the required level, one of the main reasons for the outcome. The unsuccessful procurement concerns future projects that did not secure the expected contractual commitments. It does not mean the plants had already been built or that existing generating capacity was removed from the grid. Infrastructure is essential to diversification South Africa wants to diversify a system histori...