UPDATE ON THE PREFERRED BIDDERS UNDER THE FIRST BID WINDOW OF THE COAL BASELOAD IPP PROCUREMENT PROGRAMME

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing Earthlife Africa and groundWork, issued a statement to the IPP Office of the Department of Energy on 16 November 2018. The letter seeks clarity on the status of the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal-fired power stations, the preferred bidders under the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (CBIPPPP), specifically regarding their commercial and financial close deadlines and the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs).

• The CER asserts that neither the Thabametsi nor the Khanyisa coal IPP projects are currently capable of reaching commercial and financial close due to outstanding licenses, authorizations, and pending High Court review proceedings against environmental authorizations.
• The Thabametsi project faces multiple legal and regulatory hurdles, including a High Court review of its environmental authorisation (EA) in the North Gauteng High Court, and the lack of an atmospheric emission licence (AEL), a water use licence (WUL), and a NERSA licence.
• The Khanyisa project is subject to pending High Court review proceedings regarding its EA, a disputed provisional AEL currently before the Nkangala District Municipality, a suspended WUL due to an appeal, and the absence of a NERSA licence.
• Eskom has not approved the signing of the coal IPP agreements, and the Minister of Public Enterprises stated that no instruction has been given to Eskom to sign such agreements, noting that future IPP programmes are on hold pending the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
• Eskom has indicated it is awaiting a "value for money" assessment, required by regulation 9 of the Electricity Regulations for New Generation Capacity under the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006, before deciding whether to sign the PPAs.
• Research from the University of Cape Town’s Energy Research Centre (ERC) suggests the coal IPPs would increase costs by R20 billion (a figure the Minister of Energy suggested could be R23 billion) and could accelerate a "utility death spiral" for Eskom due to low demand.
• The CER is seeking confirmation on whether the IPP office extended the bid validity for the Khanyisa project from 3 November 2018 to 3 May 2019, and if a formal commercial and financial close deadline of 3 May 2019 has been set.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). UPDATE ON THE PREFERRED BIDDERS UNDER THE FIRST BID WINDOW OF THE COAL BASELOAD IPP PROCUREMENT PROGRAMME. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CER-to-IPP-office-16.11.18.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. UPDATE ON THE PREFERRED BIDDERS UNDER THE FIRST BID WINDOW OF THE COAL BASELOAD IPP PROCUREMENT PROGRAMME. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CER-to-IPP-office-16.11.18.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=UPDATE ON THE PREFERRED BIDDERS UNDER THE FIRST BID WINDOW OF THE COAL BASELOAD IPP PROCUREMENT PROGRAMME |date=16 November 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CER-to-IPP-office-16.11.18.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018update, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{UPDATE ON THE PREFERRED BIDDERS UNDER THE FIRST BID WINDOW OF THE COAL BASELOAD IPP PROCUREMENT PROGRAMME}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CER-to-IPP-office-16.11.18.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }