Mulilo Named Among the Preferred Energy Storage Bidders

(The Post News)- Representing the government, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the Minister of Electricity and Energy, announced that Mulilo was selected as one of the preferred energy storage bidders. This statement was officially released during the third round of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Program(BESIPPPP) that took place yesterday morning in Free State.

Mulilo, amongst other awarded bidders, including Scatec, have committed to investing a total of R9.5 billion into the South African economy. Minister Ramokgopa made the announcement amid the countries’s energy crisis with efforts to boost the grid capacity. He also stated that the agreement is aimed at improving the energy storage infrastructure of the country, and as a result will spend up to 15 years.

Since the BESIPPPP was launched back in March 2024, a total number 33 submissions had been received by the 28th of November 2024. Even with the high volume of bids, Mulilo, which was named as one of the countries’s most prominent Independent Power Producers(IPP), was appointed across four project sites. This includes the Bloemhoek, Erfdeel, Vanilla, and Retreat BESS projects.

Minister Ramokgopa also revealed that the commercial clothes for the project is set for the next eight months, and by January 2028 commercial operations will commence.

Mulilo, together with Scatec, have also placed over R180 million to socioeconomic development initiatives, in addition to projects targeting skills and supplier development.