Environmental activist nonprofit organisation the Green Connection has taken the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to court in an effort to “force” them to supply key information regarding the Karpowership deals.

Karpowership uses powerships, or floating power plants, that can anchor at ports and provide electricity to customers facing power supply constraints.

Karpowership was selected by the DMRE, in March 2021, as a preferred bidder under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Under that programme, it intended to anchor powerships at three of South Africa’s ports to generate electricity from gas and feed that electricity into the national grid.

The three projects have, however, faced various delays.

Green Connection stated that the three local Karpowerships entities – Karpowership SA Coega, Karpowership SA Saldanha Bay and Karpowership SA Richards Bay – have withdrawn their opposition and have indicated that they will abide by the court’s decision.

The application is being heard in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

“This is a case within a case. The larger legal challenge is against Nersa’s decision to grant three electricity generation licences to the Karpowership SA companies to operate powerships in the ports of Saldanha, Coega and Richards Bay. This was important because Nersa had granted the licence approvals unlawfully,” Green Connection has claimed.

“Since the start, the Karpowerships deals were mired in controversy, characterised by such irregularities. This court case essentially aims to force Nersa to share more details regarding the Karpowerships deals, which we need to support our larger challenge, and which the regulator refuses to make available.

“For instance, we need costing information to better understand how the price of electricity could be affected . . . With what has happened in Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, where Karpowerships cut power for extended periods due to these countries’ inability to pay their electricity bills, it is clear that South Africa, which already has so many other challenges, should know what we are getting ourselves into,” Green Connection strategic lead Liz McDaid said on June 5.

For more than three years, the nonprofit organisation has been opposing Karpowerships as a solution to South Africa’s energy crisis. The Green Connection said this was not just about the financial costs associated with this technology, but rather about its potential to cause harm to the environment and the potential negative ripple effect this could have on the livelihoods of those who depend on it.

“South Africans need transparency about such projects, so that we can fully understand the consequences of decisions that could affect our lives and livelihoods, especially when it affects communities who continue to be marginalised. The people have the right to say no when we believe that a project will do more harm than good,” Green Connection legal and outreach adviser Priyanka Naidoo said.

Fellow environmental activist organisation Earthlife Africa Johannesburg and several other entities staged a picket demonstration alongside Green Connection outside the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on June 4.

“We do not have the infrastructure needed for Karpowerships at the designated ports. This means there may be a major financial burden to taxpayers if we opt to go ahead with it,” Earthlife Africa programmes officer Ulrich Steenkamp said.

He said that, although South Africa had an electricity shortfall, it would be a mistake to get tied into a contract with the fossil fuel industry.

“We should rather be accelerating and investing in renewable energy so that our just transition targets can be achieved as soon as possible. This is the main reason that Earthlife Africa supports the Green Connection’s court case,” Steenkamp said.