By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Eskom has appointed five transformer companies to a panel of suppliers that will compete for upcoming contracts for a total of 101 large-scale transformers be installed over the coming four years as part of its Transmission Development Plan (TDP).
The suppliers were not immediately named in the statement, with Eskom saying only that most of the five suppliers were “local with an international footprint” and had been selected following an open tender issued on March 14.
The tender for the first batch of 26 power transformers has been issued to the suppliers and is expected to be awarded by July.
The current schedule requires this first batch of large-scale transformers to be delivered between 12 to 36 months from order placement to meet an urgent requirement to increase transmission capacity, which has emerged as a constraint to connecting new generation.
Eskom reports that contracts worth an estimated R7-billion will be awarded over the coming four years to unlock 28 GW of grid capacity, and it argues that the framework agreement has been designed to facilitate competition among the suppliers for various tenders over the coming years.
The TDP will be overseen in future by the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), which is developing 47 transformer projects that have the potential to unlock 37 GW of grid connection capacity between 2025 and 2033.
These projects are at different stages of implementation in terms of design, procurement and construction.
Eskom’s managing director for transmission, Segomoco Scheppers, said the project aims to connect 53GW of new generation capacity over the next ten years.
“To achieve this, innovative project delivery models and partnerships are being explored and implemented to drive accelerated delivery of the Transmission Development Plan (TDP), including a priority programme for strategic projects,” said Scheppers.
The five transformer suppliers were selected through an open tender enquiry, published by the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) in mid-March 2023.
Eskom indicates that subsequent tenders will encourage higher levels of local content as the supply chain becomes more established.