Lack of gas-supply assurances sees no gas-to-power bidders selected in SA’s first bid window
Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has confirmed that none of the four bidders that made submissions under South Africa’s inaugural gas-to-power bidding round has been appointed as a preferred bidder. This, after none of the bidders were able to provide the gas-supply assurances required by the tender.
Through the first bid window of the Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, or GASIPPPP, government was aiming to procure 2 000 MW of generation capacity in line with the country’s Integrated Resource Plan for electricity.
The Department of Electricity and Energy issued a revised request for proposals (RFP) on October 20, 2025, following consultations with potential bidders, and received four bids offering a total of 2 830 MW on May 29 this year.
The bidders were Khanyazwe Flexpower (440 MW), Pictor GTP Consortium (990 MW), Kelvin Redevelopment (600 MW) and Komatipoort Power (800 MW).
However, the department reported on October 28 that the bidders were unable to provide gas-supply assurances to the level required in the RFP, which meant that none of the bidders satisfied the mandatory functional criteria.
“Consequently, no preferred Bidders were appointed and no generation capacity was awarded for the GASIPPPP BW1,” the Minister said in a statement.
He added that South Africa would not retreat from it gas-to-power objectives, but that it was necessary to address the infrastructure, commercial and institutional conditions required to translate market interest into viable and deliverable projects.
Continued structured engagement involving relevant market participants would now be prioritised “to inform consideration of the programme’s future direction”.
“Any subsequent procurement process, including its requirements and timelines, will be subject to the necessary statutory, governance and procurement approvals.
“The Department will communicate further information through the appropriate official channels before the end of the calendar year,” the statement reads.
EE Business Intelligence MD Chris Yelland described the development as another setback in more than a decade of government efforts to procure gas-fired electricity generation, noting that the first attempt dated back to 2015.