POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS
Legal advice boosts IPPs' case against Eskom
The South African Renewable Energy Council says Eskom has no right to set new conditions for power purchase agreements
Independent power producers (IPPs), who are waiting for Eskom to sign power purchase agreements (PPA), are entitled to approach the courts to force Eskom to sign these agreements, the South African Renewable Energy Council (SAREC) said on Wednesday. SAREC, which represents 37 IPPs, said that according to the legal advice it sought, Eskom was bound by the determination of the minister of energy to conclude signing the PPA. It said Eskom also had no right to set new conditions following the published outcome of a highly competitive tender process. Eskom said it was stalling on signing any further power purchase agreements because IPPs were costing Eskom billions. In 2015, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) released a report saying that IPPs had saved Eskom about R5bn from burning diesel at a time when there was load-shedding and the country needed more electricity, which Eskom could not adequately supply.
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