IPPs to play greater role in SA generation challenge

New Eskom interim CEO Brian Molefe has said that his short and medium term aims were to end load shedding and ensure efficiency and security of coal power supply, but that “in the medium to long term [our priority is] to increase alternative sources of energy, to systematically reduce our reliance on coal over a period of time”. His statement, taken with energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson’s announcement of “expanded and accelerated” independent power producer (IPP) procurement programmes, is widely viewed as signalling government recognition that Eskom will not provide new generation capacity within a timeframe or at a cost that can be justified in light of the success of the renewable energy IPP procurement (REIPPP) programme.