South Africa’s 10-year Transmission Development Plan (TDP) has revealed major shortfalls in local manufacturing capacity for high-voltage transformers and other grid components.
This was highlighted during an industry engagement session led by Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA).
Presenting the TDP’s bill of quantities, NTCSA General Manager for Grid Planning and Development Jacob Machinjike said the plan sets out about 14 500 km of new transmission lines, requiring an average annual build rate of 1 500 km, peaking at 2 200 km. “The quantities are there,” he said. “It’s quite a lot of materials that are required.”
Machinjike said the rollout will demand thousands of transformers, reactors and synchronous condensers but warned that local capability remains limited. “What we know is that, in the country, for Class 3 and Class 4 transformers, we do not have any manufacturing capability. These are big ticket items. The most expensive single component on the substation side is transformers,” he said.
Echoing the concern, Ramokgopa called the shortage a signal for immediate investment.
“With Class 3 and 4 transformers, there’s no capacity. We must build that capacity. I don’t see this as a problem; I see this as the truth,” he said.
Ramokgopa said the transformer gap presents a supply chain risk for the TDP’s execution and for South Africa’s broader energy transition. He urged the sector to view local manufacturing as essential to secure and independent infrastructure. “The gap should serve as a direct signal for targeted investment to establish local transformer manufacturing,” he said.
The shortage of large transformer manufacturing capacity is underscored by recent industry developments. In August, Energize reported that ACTOM acquired SGB-SMIT Power Matla, South Africa’s only producer of Class 3 transformers, following its entry into business rescue. In October, ACTOM CEO Mervyn Naidoo told Energize that South Africa must do more to support companies that manufacture products essential to the country’s energy transition and economic growth.
The TDP is part of South Africa’s wider grid expansion and industrialisation strategy, supporting the Independent Transmission Project and the addition of new generation capacity under the Integrated Resource Plan. The discussion follows government’s commitment to localisation in the transmission build programme.
