INVESTEC is confident that current uncertainties over the continuation of the government’s independent power programme (IPP) will turn out to be no more than a "speed bump", said the bank’s head of power and infrastructure finance Mike Meeser this week.With questions being asked about Eskom’s ability to deliver reliably and cost-effectively, the private sector has been making an increasing contribution but Eskom has recently questioned the necessity for it."Uncertainty is a phase the (energy) sector is going through and Investec still has capacity and appetite for funding of projects in SA," he said in an interview."We do not rely solely on SA for business and given the shortage of power in the rest of the continent we will look north of our borders for opportunities."Investec led the group of banks that financed the Avon and Dedisa diesel-fired peaking power plants, which were among the first independent power contracts awarded by the Department of Energy.The two plants — the R6.3...
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