The government’s emergency power program, also known as the risk mitigation program, has experienced multiple delays as the nation heads for a record year of electricity cuts because state-owned utility Eskom is unable to meet demand.
Although Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in February 2019 predicted that such a program to source new power quickly could have stations online within two years, none have been added to the grid. However, it’s been held up by court cases and awaits various other approvals. The government did not sign any contracts for the Turkish developer of 1,220 megawatts of planned capacity.