Eskom has said there is nothing unusual about a tender for 15 000 rounds of 9mm bullets for Grootvlei power station, as the order is an annual occurrence and the ammunition is used for shooting training by security personnel under the National Key Points act.

National key points are strategic installations that require special security to safeguard them from acts of sabotage. The list of the country's over 200 key points was made public in 2015 after a successful campaign by the Right2Know Campaign and the SA History Archive. Grootvlei, and other power stations, were among those named.

On Monday the power utility published a request for quotation for the delivery of 15 000 rounds of 9mm ammunition to the coal-fired power station near Balfour in Mpumalanga. The tender also asks for a quotation for the supply 3 000 rounds of 12 gauge AAA ammunition for shotguns. The closing date for is November 8.

In response to a request for comment, Eskom said on Tuesday that the power station fell under the National Key Point Act.

"The National Key Point procedure requires security personnel to get assessed according to Regulation 79 annually," said Eskom. "The ammunition is required for shooting training and assessment of all Security personnel on annual basis."

Eskom said that last purchase request for ammunition for Grootvlei was published in July 2018, and all this ammunition had been used up.

"This is not the first time Grootvlei has ordered ammunition as indicated, it’s an annual occurrence for assessment purposes."