South Africa’s Eskom is seeking a private-sector partner to help deliver a 1,500-megawatt hydropower facility designed to store enough energy to generate electricity at full capacity for 14 hours, as the state-owned utility expands its options for balancing electricity supply and demand.

The Tubatse pumped-storage project in Limpopo province carries an estimated investment cost of 40 billion rand ($2.426 billion), making it a major infrastructure opportunity for companies capable of financing, developing and constructing large-scale energy assets.

Interested companies must submit applications by Nov. 30, ahead of a second bidding phase.

Beyond its generating capacity, the project would add 21 gigawatt-hours of storage to South Africa’s electricity system.

That capability could help the grid meet periods of high demand by releasing stored energy when it is needed, strengthening the role of energy storage alongside renewable generation.

Private investors sought for major energy project

Eskom opened the partner selection process on Oct. 13, seeking a company to develop, finance and build the facility near Roossenekal.

The project will use pumped-storage hydropower, which moves water to an elevated reservoir when electricity is available and releases it through turbines to generate power when demand increases.

The utility secured a €6.5 million ($7.28 million) European grant in November 2024 to support project preparation and encourage private-sector participation. The funding is being implemented through the French Development Agency, known as AFD.

South Africa has designated Tubatse one of 12 priority national projects and included it in the country’s Just Energy Transition programme, placing the development within a broader effort to reshape the electricity system while expanding lower-carbon energy infrastructure.

Tubatse would overtake Ingula

With a planned capacity of 1,500 MW, Tubatse would become South Africa’s largest pumped-storage hydropower facility, surpassing Eskom’s Ingula plant, which has 1,332 MW of capacity.

Eskom also operates the Drakensberg facility, with 1,000 MW, and Palmiet, with 400 MW. Tubatse would expand the utility’s existing storage infrastructure as electricity providers face the challenge of matching generation with fluctuating demand.

Eskom expands its low-carbon ambitions

The project also fits into the expansion strategy of Eskom Green, the utility’s renewable energy subsidiary launched in June 2026.

The subsidiary aims to develop approximately 6 GW of low-carbon electricity capacity by 2030, with a potential portfolio of 32 GW by 2040.

On Oct. 9, Eskom launched a separate partner selection process for a renewable energy generation and storage programme of up to 6 GW.

Together, the initiatives signal a broader push to attract private capital and expand energy infrastructure.

Tubatse would add a substantial storage asset to that strategy, although its delivery will depend on securing a partner and progressing through the project’s development and procurement stages.