Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa indicates that he is in favour of grid-access rules that ensure as much new capacity is added as quickly as possible regardless of whether that new generation is procured through public or private processes.

The Minister was responding to a question as to whether upcoming Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) bidding rounds could be threatened if the Energy Regulator refused to allow Eskom to reserve grid capacity for such projects.

In a submission to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), Eskom said it was necessary to preserve and reserve grid capacity to protect the REIPPPP from failures similar to that experienced during REIPPPP Bid Window 6.

During that bid window, no wind projects progressed to the preferred-bidder stage as the grid capacity on which they were premised was allocated to independent power producers proceeding on the back of private power purchase agreements.

Eskom argued that, without protection, public procurement programmes would be incapable of competing with the much more agile private procurement programmes.

Following an extended public-comment period, it was reported by Moneyweb that Nersa’s electricity sub-committee recommended that the Energy Regulator reject Eskom’s application when it met to make a final determination.

Ramokgopa argued that the “problem statement” facing South Africa was the need to rapidly add new capacity to a grid that remained vulnerable to loadshedding despite recent improvements, rather than prioritising the credibility of the public procurement process.

The Minister indicated that he was supportive of an outcome that allowed projects that were ready to proceed.

“We are solving a bigger problem.

“We are not solving for the credibility of the public-procurement process, we are solving an energy-deficit problem.

“So if the private sector is ready, I’m of the opinion that they should be allowed to come onstream,” Ramokgopa explained.