CAPE TOWN, May 28 (Reuters) - South Africa will spend about 15 billion rand ($2.30 billion) over the next
three years on three new 600 to 1,000 megawatt power stations to meet the
country's growing energy needs, senior officials said on Friday. The country's demand for energy is expected to exceed its generating
Minerals and Energy deputy minister Lulu Xingwana said at a media briefing in Cape Town the total investment for the three power stations was estimated at around 15 billion rand. Investors will be invited to tender for the first station before the end of this year, with the contract awarded in 2005. "With peak demand expected to exceed supply by 2007/08, the process has started to procure a new power station," she said. The state-owned power utility Eskom currently generates about 95 percent of South Africa's power needs but the state plans to bring in private interests by selling some 30 percent of the company's generating capacity.
Neliswe Magubane, deputy director-general in the department, told Reuters further tenders would be awarded in 2006 and 2007 for two new power stations, also of between 600 to 1,000 megawatts. "The first station is expected to come on stream in the 2006/07 financial year... (but) we will require additional resources every year after that to meet our energy needs to 2010," she said. Eskom is to spend about six billion rand this year to return mothballed power stations to bridge the expected capacity shortfall.
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