The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has confirmed that 2 692 electricity generation facilities have been registered since 2018, with another 124 registrations completed between April and June, which aligns with the public sector’s first quarter.

The overall capacity of registered facilities has increased to a combined 21.9 GW, with the first-quarter registrations adding a further 804 MW.

Should all these projects be implemented Nersa estimates the total investment cost at R452.9-billion, attributing a combined cost of R20.18-billion to the latest 124 registrations.

Nersa has confirmed with Engineering News, however, that it does not have the capacity or systems in place to track which registered projects have progressed to implementation; an information gap that has been highlighted by electricity industry stakeholders for some time.

It also confirms that there is no prescribed timeframe within which the generation facility must be built.

“The registration certificate remains valid for the lifespan of the generation facility, as recorded in the certificate,” Nersa tells Engineering News.

What Nersa is able to confirm is where the registered projects are located, whether the facility is seeking to connect to a municipal distribution or the Eskom grid, as well as what technology is proposed, with solar PV having emerged as the dominant technology registered.