The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) registered 147 new electricity generation facilities in the quarter ended December 31 – the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year – adding total capacity of 1 960 MW and an investment of R33.39-billion.

The regulator processed these registrations within an average of nine working days, a notable improvement from the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year when 117 applications were processed in an average of 14 working days.

Nersa said on January 30 that solar PV technology was the leading technology for the new facilities, driven by South Africa’s abundant sunlight that supports both small-scale and large-scale electricity generation.

The provinces with the highest number of new facilities are Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, while Gauteng, the Free State and Limpopo led in total installed capacity and investment cost.

A single project in Gauteng accounted for the highest investment cost at R13.31-billion, with an installed capacity of 1 017 MW.

Of the 147 facilities, 71 are connected to municipal distribution networks, delivering a total capacity of 62 MW and an investment of R832-million. The remaining 76 facilities are connected to State-owned utility Eskom’s grid, with a combined capacity of 1 898 MW and an investment of more than R32.5-billion. The average investment cost for the third quarter is R17 038/kW.

Since Nersa introduced its registration regime in 2018, it has registered a total of 2 383 generation facilities, representing 18 000 MW of capacity and R361-billion in investment.

Nersa said its approval of these new facilities was expected to strengthen South Africa’s electricity generation capacity and support continued uninterrupted electricity supply.

Source: Engineeringnews.co.za