The South African government has announced a delay to Phase I of the country’s inaugural independent transmission projects (ITP) procurement programme, indicating that the final request for proposals (RFP) is now targeted for release in the second quarter of the 2027 calendar year.

The Department of Electricity and Energy and the National Treasury, which are driving the procurement being implemented through the Independent Power Producer Office, have previously indicated that the RFP would be released by no later than the third quarter of the 2026 calendar year.

In a joint statement, the two departments said that, following the first round of engagement with the seven ITP pre-qualified bidders (PQBs), it was decided that further consultations would be undertaken before the issuance of the RFP.

The seven companies eligible to participate in the RFP phase were identified in December as including:

• the Adani Power Middle East–Momentous Energy Consortium, led by Adani Power Middle East, based in the United Arab Emirates;
• the AREF Cobra Transmission Consortium, led by the South African arm of Grupo Cobra, of Spain;
• Consortium Pulse Infrastructure, led by Celeo Redes, of Spain;
• the EITP Consortium, led by Okavango Projects SA;
• the State Grid Consortium, led by the State Grid International Development Company, of China;
• the Hyperion Consortium, led by the South African arm of French multinational EDF; and
• the Transmission Africa Consortium, led by China Southern Power Grid International.

The companies have been prequalified to bid to build 1 164 km of power lines and associated substation infrastructure across seven preselected corridors. The projects are expected to have a combined investment value of about $1-billion.

“A second draft RFP package will be issued to the seven PQBs before the end of 2026.

“The package will reflect the significant work undertaken since the first draft RFP and will provide bidders and their lenders with a further opportunity to identify any remaining material bankability issues,” the statement reads, stressing that the consultations were not intended to reopen the transaction for general comment.

“Its purpose is to provide PQBs with a substantially complete and coherent transaction package so that issues that could materially affect bid submission, financing or financial close can be identified and addressed before the documents are finalised.”

The second draft package would also be accompanied by a draft non-binding term sheet for the Credit Guarantee Vehicle (CGV), which was being established with the support of the World Bank Group to enable the ITPs to proceed in the absence of a government guarantee.

The statement confirmed that a Joint Development Agreement between National Treasury and FSD Africa was signed on July 2 to support the operationalisation of the CGV, while the Development Bank of Southern Africa was hosting the Project Implementation Unit responsible for supporting its development and operationalisation.

“The governance arrangements for the CGV have been established, including a project team, Steering Committee, Caretaker Board and Advisory Board.

“The CGV was registered and incorporated on 12 August 2026, with its statutory directors, auditor and corporate secretariat appointed,” the statement reads.

The National Treasury is also approaching prospective capital investors, with investor due diligence under way to provide prospective investors with the information required to progress their investment proposals.

“The licensing process is under way following submission of the licence application to the South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority, while recruitment and development of the CGV’s operating policies and procedures are progressing in parallel.”

The departments reported that a draft non-binding CGV term sheet had been developed and would be aligned with the wider ITP transaction architecture, including the regulatory cost recovery framework, risk allocation and ring-fencing arrangements.

“Following operationalisation of the CGV, further due diligence will be undertaken during the first quarter of 2027, with the current work programme targeting a binding CGV term sheet by the end of the first quarter of 2027.”