South Africa puts 4,600MW of batteries and 5,000MW of gas first in its next procurement
Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has confirmed the proposed approach to the first section 34 determination under the IRP 2025, prioritising 4,600MW of battery storage and 5,000MW of gas-to-power. Wind and solar wait for a later determination, as the ministry sets out to cut curtailment before adding variable generation.
South Africa’s first procurement under its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan would allocate 4,600MW to battery storage and 5,000MW to gas-to-power, a combined 9,600MW, under the proposed section 34 determination Ramokgopa confirmed on 7 October. A later determination will cover wind and solar, including hybrid projects paired with storage, along with longer-term pumped storage.
Rising curtailment, in which available generation is turned away because the network cannot accommodate it or supply runs ahead of demand, is adding to system costs, the ministry said, with the power left unused while the infrastructure and contracts behind it still have to be paid for. The sequence of procurement puts better use of the electricity already available ahead of further variable generation for that reason.
Batteries in the programme are meant to charge from electricity that would otherwise be curtailed and discharge into the evening peak, and the ministry wants them sited where they can reach that surplus and discharge without reproducing the network constraint. Procurement will follow the System Operator’s charging and discharge requirements, with enforceable availability and performance obligations, and storage will be judged on the electricity it moves into useful periods and the reliability services it delivers.
Gas plants cannot absorb surplus electricity, so the 5,000MW allocation is meant to run flexibly, the ministry said. That leaves renewable generation to meet demand when its output is high, with gas supplying what remains when that output falls. Procurement will be designed around how quickly plants start and ramp. Bids will be assessed on fuel availability and delivered gas prices together with the port and pipeline infrastructure they depend on, and affordability will be judged against the operating profile each plant is expected to run.
All five projects in South Africa’s first battery storage bid window, 513MW between them, had reached commercial close and entered construction by June 2025, with R15.4bn of investment behind them, according to the ministry. The 4,600MW now proposed is close to nine times that capacity.
The ministry has placed both allocations inside a wider programme of transmission expansion and regional electricity trade, saying lasting progress on curtailment also depends on delivering the grid needed to move power to consumers, and procurement will carry measurable commitments on local manufacturing and skills. Ramokgopa said the approach was aimed at “improving the use of available electricity” and at “addressing avoidable costs that place pressure on electricity affordability”.
Images: South African Government
