Private Transmission Is Now Open for Bidding: What the 1,164 km ITP RFP Means for C&I Grid Relief

Private Transmission Is Now Open for Bidding: What the 1,164 km ITP RFP Means for C&I Grid Relief

South Africa has crossed a historic threshold in its power sector reform journey. For the first time in the country's history, private companies are being invited to finance, build, operate, and maintain high-voltage transmission infrastructure — and the Request for Proposals (RFP) is now imminent. For commercial and industrial (C&I) energy users, this is not just a policy milestone: it is a structural shift that will fundamentally reshape how solar, BESS, and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) connect to — and benefit from — the national grid.

The ITP Programme: Key Facts at a Glance

South Africa's Department of Electricity and Energy has prequalified seven international-led consortia to advance to the next stage of bidding under the country's first-ever Independent Transmission Projects (ITP) Procurement Programme — a landmark initiative aimed at attracting large-scale private sector investment into the national power grid. The ITP programme covers the development, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of approximately 1,164 kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines, along with associated substation infrastructure, across seven strategically identified transmission corridors.

The total investment value of the programme is estimated at around USD 1 billion. A total of 17 consortia responded to the request for prequalification, from which seven were selected based on technical capability, financial strength, and prior experience in delivering large-scale transmission infrastructure projects.

A determination under section 34(1)(b) of the Electricity Regulation Act, made on 28 March 2025, identified that 1,164 km of 400kV transmission lines and associated infrastructure will be required to overcome grid constraints across Northern Cape, North-West, and Gauteng.

The RFP Timeline: What to Expect in 2026

Following an initial request for pre-qualification in July 2025, in December, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced that the government had appointed seven international bidders to advance to the next procurement phase. A request for proposals (RFP) for the first phase ITP is now expected to be issued in the second half of 2026. This will require the pre-qualified bidders to submit detailed technical and commercial proposals. The Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) will then take a decision to award the relevant contracts.

A critical enabler of the RFP release is the Credit Guarantee Vehicle (CGV). The RFP for the initial ITP projects has been delayed to coincide with the launch of this new Credit Guarantee Vehicle, which will enable the projects to proceed in the absence of National Treasury guarantees. The CGV, which will be a private non-life insurance company regulated by the Prudential Authority, is scheduled to be launched in July 2026, with National Treasury having already announced that it will inject seed equity of R2 billion into the vehicle, giving it a minority shareholding. The remaining equity is expected to be sourced from development finance institutions, with the timing of the launch aligned to approvals from the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is expected to participate as a shareholder.

The Seven Pre-Qualified Consortia

The prequalified consortia include: Adani Power Middle East–Momentous Energy Consortium; AREF Cobra Transmission Consortium; Consortium Pulse Infrastructure; EITP Consortium; State Grid Consortium; The Hyperion Consortium; and Transmission Africa Consortium. All shortlisted consortia are led by international developers with established transmission project experience, while also incorporating local participation and black economic empowerment requirements, in line with national policy objectives.

Electricity and Energy Minister Ramokgopa has stressed that South African companies will be positioned to secure preferred bidder status in later phases of the country's 10-year transmission expansion programme, even as international firms dominate the first phase of the landmark ITP initiative.

Why the Grid Needs This — Urgently

In October 2024, the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) unveiled its Transmission Development Plan (TDP) for the period 2025–2034, outlining the need to construct 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity over the next decade. This requires an estimated R440 billion in investment.

The current construction capacity of about 800 km of transmission lines per year needs to increase significantly to an average of 1,450 km per year, with the potential to peak at around 2,700 km annually. The government's balance sheet is unable to finance the entire development costs. Therefore, to cover the investment shortfall, the government aims to use the ITP programme to leverage private capital, expertise, and resources to implement the TDP.

It is envisioned that with the new transmission lines, at least 3,000 MW of energy will be added to the grid — specifically, 3,222 MW of new generation capacity will be unlocked as a result of this intervention.

What This Means for C&I Property Owners

For commercial property owners, industrial parks, and large energy consumers, the ITP programme is significant for three interconnected reasons:

• Grid congestion relief: In recent years, South Africa has faced major transmission constraints in areas rich in renewable energy resources, such as the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape, as well as parts of the North-West. New corridors will ease the backlog of stranded generation projects waiting for grid access.
• Unlocking renewable energy for PPAs: The ITP programme is regarded as central to unlocking the country's renewable energy potential by opening new transmission corridors that enable solar, wind, and other clean energy projects to connect to the grid. This directly expands the pool of utility-scale solar and wind projects that C&I buyers can offtake through long-term PPAs.
• Enabling funded solar and BESS solutions: As more generation connects to a strengthened grid, the economics of on-site solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) improve. Better grid stability reduces the uncertainty premium built into financed energy projects, making funded solar and BESS structures — including operating leases and energy-as-a-service models — more bankable for property owners and their lenders.

A Globally Benchmarked Model

ITPs have worked well in attracting private investment in transmission lines for emerging economies such as India, Brazil, Peru, and Chile. These models, typically using build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts, have enabled the construction of nearly 100,000 km of new transmission lines and mobilised over USD 24.5 billion in private capital between 1998 and 2015. The ITPs introduced transparent, competitive bidding processes for transmission projects such that, in Peru, the model resulted in cost efficiencies where winning bids were 36% lower than anticipated.

Under the ITP model, a private sector developer finances, designs, constructs, operates, and maintains the electricity transmission asset in exchange for payment of a consistent and long-term fee from the public sector. Only after the concession period ends does the ownership of the asset transfer to the public sector.

The SolarXgen Perspective

At SolarXgen, we see the ITP RFP process as one of the most consequential structural shifts for C&I energy since the lifting of Schedule 2 generation licensing thresholds. A stronger, more connected grid does not replace rooftop solar and BESS — it makes them more valuable. When the grid becomes a reliable backup and export partner rather than a liability, the business case for funded solar, wheeling arrangements, and long-term PPAs strengthens considerably.

C&I property owners and energy managers should be watching the RFP release — expected no later than Q3 2026 — as a key indicator of the pace at which new renewable energy generation will be able to reach their facilities via both direct wheeling and strengthened municipal and Eskom networks.