Ekurhuleni may buy 2,400MW of new electricity from independent power producers, after Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced a ministerial determination on 19 October.
The Section 34 determination under the Electricity Regulation Act covers a mix of sources, according to the SAnews report of the Pretoria briefing. Solar photovoltaic makes up 1,237MW, of which 1,137MW is embedded generation inside the metro. Natural gas accounts for 780MW, of which 535MW is wheeled over the grid. The rest is 183MW of waste-to-energy and 200MW for what the briefing called innovative energy technologies.
Ramokgopa said Ekurhuleni was the first city to apply for a determination, and that the size of the request explained the time it took. eThekwini received approval for 400MW and the City of Cape Town for 220MW. “This is at a different scale,” Ramokgopa said. He said the programme could free Ekurhuleni from total dependence on Eskom, although the city would remain grid-tied.
Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza said the city expects about R6.2 billion in infrastructure investment and jobs for residents. The city estimates the programme could save R36 billion on bulk electricity over 20 years. At the city’s figures, the unit price would fall about 31%, from about R3 to about R2.
Xhakaza gave a household example. A home using 500kWh a month pays about R1,500 at R3 a unit, and the mayor put the saving at R500 a month. The statement does not say how the city arrived at the lower price, or whether it applies to every customer class. The mayor said industry would also see savings.
Source: Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, briefing of 19 October 2026, as reported by SAnews. Chart: Rand Desk
“We are working towards sod turning in some projects before the end of this week,” Xhakaza said. The briefing gave no timetable for when the new plants would supply power, and no procurement dates.
A Section 34 determination is the minister’s confirmation that a municipality may procure new generation capacity under the Electricity Regulation Act. The briefing set the technologies and the megawatts for Ekurhuleni, and the city still has to run the procurement itself.
Only part of the mix is embedded generation inside the city. Of the gas, 535MW would be wheeled, which means the power travels over the existing grid from the plant to the city’s customers. That keeps Ekurhuleni connected to Eskom, as the minister said, while changing where the city buys its energy.
The projections come from the city and the minister, and the SAnews report does not include an independent assessment of them. Related coverage: the Eskom partner call for 6GW of renewables and the municipal pension debt.
The next step is the first sod turning, which the mayor said could come before the end of the week.
