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Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) has awarded a six-month contract to provide technical services for a feasibility study to build a gas-fired power plant. The combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant is being pushed as an alternative to a coal-fired facility.

Electricity tariffs in Eswatini will rise from April 2023 with a further rise scheduled from April next year, following an Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (Esera) decision on 1 February. The rises are well below what state power utility Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) had been seeking.  

Heavily reliant on neighbouring South Africa for almost everything, including most of its electricity, Eswatini is trying to become more economically independent, but poor governance, heavy state involvement and political unrest are inhibiting its potential.

Eswatini Electricity Company is inviting proposals to supply gas for a planned large combined cycle power plant, despite issues surrounding feedstock imports. Submissions are due by 27 May.

Frazium Energy has signed a contact with the Eswatini government to develop a solar PV and storage project. The first phase is expected to consist of a 25-30MW solar PV component with a 100MW lithium-ion battery, supplying about 100GWh/yr at a cost of $115m, according to chief executive Robert Frazer.

London-based developer Globeleq and Johannesburg-based Sturdee Energy Southern Africa have been awarded two 15MW solar PV projects in the first tranche of the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (Esera)’s procurement programme for renewable energy. They are the kingdom’s first utility-scale independent power projects.

Investors, contractors and financiers have been reassessing southern Africa’s potential to emerge as a natural gas producer, supply hub and importer of molecules and electrons for gas-to-power (GTP) schemes. Mozambique’s emergence as an LNG exporter gives it potential to develop new gas-based industry and infrastructure. Developments in southern Mozambique further suggest it could drive a wider regional industry, with more gas exported by pipeline.

Eswatini plans to issue a request for proposals “very, very soon” for a 40MW solar PV project, energy minister Peter Bhembe told the Africa Energy Indaba conference in Cape Town on 3-4 March. The ministry began prequalification for the project in June last year in an effort to reduce reliance on imports from South Africa. Bhembe said a 40MW biomass plant would follow. He said construction of the 10MW Lavumisa solar PV plant was going well and the plant is expected to begin operating in August.

The Swaziland Water Services Corporation (SWSC) has issued a request for proposals from consultancy firms by 23 February for the development of a 5-10MW solar photovoltaic plant. Letters of intent are sought by 2 February. The consultant will undertake feasibility studies and conceptual design work; carry out a transmission and interconnection study; conduct an environmental and social impact assessment; develop an implementation plan and carry out capacity building; assist with procurement of construction contractors; work as the owner’s engineer; and manage contracts.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy (MNRE) and the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC) are planning for the future after the expiry of a 25-year supply contract with South Africa’s Eskom in 2025. SEC is planning up to 495MW of new capacity by then, in line with the 2014-22 Sustainable Energy For All Country Action Plan, whose total cost is estimated at $1.86bn. The current drought means most of hydropower plants are operating below their capacity and the country is relying on Eskom for 80% of its needs.

The US’s Zoetic Global has signed a memorandum of understanding with Swaziland Electricity Company to install up to 200MW of hydrokinetic units at the country’s dams. Zoetic’s technical team and an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, whose name has not yet been released, hope to carry out assessments in September and October to determine the capacity to be installed at each dam, most likely Mnjoli, Maguga and Luphohlo. Negotiations over a power purchase agreement (PPA) will run in parallel.

The Swazi government is looking to more than double its electricity generation capacity with a planned 300MW coal-fired power station. Demand in the mountain kingdom is put at 225MW, which is mainly supplied from imports from South Africa’s Eskom and 60.1MW of installed hydroelectric capacity (currently used for peaking). The sugar industry has 105MW cogeneration capacity; a small proportion of this goes into Swaziland Electricity Company’s grid from Ubombo Sugar. However, the government projects a rise in capacity from mining and other developments.

The Energy Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy is seeking expressions of interest for a review and analysis of wind and solar data and capacity building. The project will be funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) via the Energy Sector Support Project. The study aims to promote the development of wind and solar energy resources by creating a reliable and detailed information database for the formulation of new renewable projects.

Bidding documents are set to be released in February for three consultancy contracts forming part of an energy sector support project. The contracts are being financed with a $990,000 grant from the African Development Bank and a further $73,400 provided by the government and the Swaziland Electricity Company. The contracts include a prefeasibility study of the Ngwempisi hydropower cascade scheme, an update of the energy policy and implementation strategy and review and analysis of wind and solar data and capacity building.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is to provide a grant of $990,000 to the government to support the development of renewable energy. The grant will finance three studies under an energy sector support programme aimed at promoting private sector investment in renewable energy to reduce excessive reliance on costly imported power while expanding access to electricity and ensuring reliable power supply.