COAL BASELOAD INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS – STATUS OF THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

A formal letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, to Eskom's Board of Directors requesting information on the status of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for two coal-fired power stations: Thabametsi and Khanyisa.

• The CER asserts that the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal-fired power projects cannot reach commercial close because they lack necessary licenses and are subject to pending High Court review proceedings regarding their environmental authorisations.
• The CER argues that the coal IPPs fail the 'value for money' requirement of the New Generation Regulations because South Africa has surplus base supply capacity and does not require new base supply for the foreseeable future.
• Economic analysis cited by the CER suggests that the coal IPPs would cost South Africa an additional 19.6 billion Rand compared to a least-cost electricity system.
• The coal IPPs are projected to have a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity approximately 24% higher than Eskom's current fleet average and 58% higher than the Medupi and Kusile stations.
• The CER warns that the coal IPPs could become stranded assets or accelerate a 'utility death spiral' for Eskom due to low demand and the need to meet Paris Agreement commitments, which may require existing plants to run at lower load factors.
• There are significant discrepancies between Department of Energy (DoE) job estimates and the figures provided in NERSA license applications for both projects. For Thabametsi, the DoE estimated 9,183 operational jobs versus 182 in the application; for Khanyisa, the DoE estimated 4,341 operational jobs versus 150 in the application.
• The CER contends that signing the PPAs would breach the fiduciary duties of Eskom's board under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), specifically the duty to protect assets and prevent prejudice to the financial interests of the state.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). COAL BASELOAD INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS – STATUS OF THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-Letter-to-Eskom_7-Aug-2018-1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. COAL BASELOAD INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS – STATUS OF THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-Letter-to-Eskom_7-Aug-2018-1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=COAL BASELOAD INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS – STATUS OF THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS |date=7 August 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-Letter-to-Eskom_7-Aug-2018-1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018coal, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{COAL BASELOAD INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS – STATUS OF THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-Letter-to-Eskom_7-Aug-2018-1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }