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

A statement from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to the South African Minister of Energy and Director General of the Department of Energy, challenging the procurement of two coal-fired power stations (Thabametsi and Khanyisa). The CER argues that these projects fail the 'value for money' test, lack necessary legal authorisations, and would exacerbate climate change and economic instability.

• The CER argues that the coal IPPs do not meet the 'value for money' criteria defined in the New Generation Regulations, claiming they would not provide a net benefit to the government or Eskom and are not in the best interests of the South African people.
• According to the Energy Research Centre (ERC) report cited in the document, South Africa has surplus base supply capacity and does not require new base supply capacity for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the coal IPPs are estimated to 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 the current Eskom fleet average and 58% higher than the Medupi and Kusile stations, which the CER claims will hinder South Africa's ability to meet Paris Agreement commitments.
• The CER highlights significant discrepancies between Department of Energy (DoE) job estimates and the figures provided by the IPP companies in NERSA licence applications. For Thabametsi, the DoE estimated 5,163 construction and 9,183 operational jobs, while the NERSA application cited 2,400 construction and 182 operational jobs. For Khanyisa, the DoE estimated 1,450 construction and 4,341 operational jobs, compared to 1,500 construction and 150 operational jobs in the NERSA application.
• The CER requests specific information and documentation from the DoE, including confirmation of whether a 'value for money' assessment was conducted, the status of procurement processes, and copies of contract management plans and the Government Support Framework Agreement.

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-Minister-Radebe_7-Aug-2018.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-Minister-Radebe_7-Aug-2018.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-Minister-Radebe_7-Aug-2018.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-Minister-Radebe_7-Aug-2018.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }