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AfrElec POLICY AfrElec

power generation programme for accelerated June 2022.
assistance to the national grid amid electricity The RMIPPPP will provide for long-term
supply constraints, while the next bid window power purchase agreements (PPAs) up to 20
for the Renewable Energy Independent Power years.
Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Magoro said the IPP Office and the DMRE
is being prepared. would do a price benchmarking exercise as a first
“It is not business as usual of just putting meg- step in the bid evaluation process, to ensure that
awatts online. A defining and innovative feature projects with the most competitive and value-
of the RMIPPPP is that it is a one-of-a-kind out- for-money pricing were considered.
put-based RfP that seeks to procure an optimal IPP Office infrastructure finance head Elsa
solution to meet grid requirements, without Strydom pointed out that, in fostering an envi-
being prescriptive in terms of the technology to ronment that would allow for least-cost options,
be procured.” the DMRE would introduce the opportunity for
IPP Office legal head Lena Mangondo said a bidder to bid in a portfolio manner with the
that the bid responses would be evaluated in two objective of combining a range of technologies
stages – qualification and evaluation. that will meet the system operator demands, but
The 2,000 MW will be procured from also, through the use of a cost optimal approach,
a range of energy technologies, since the combine technologies to reduce the average bid
department has described the programme as tariff and ultimately the cost of electricity to the
technology-agnostic. end consumer.
The minimum contracted capacity of a pro- The IPP Office wants the RMIPPPP to have a
ject will be 50 MW and the maximum contracted local content threshold of at least 40%, with the
capacity will be 450 MW. Department of Trade, Industry and Competi-
The RMIPPPP stipulates that it will procure tion having designated 14 local components, as
dispatchable flexible generation that should well as an expanded list of sub-components, that
be able to provide energy, capacity and ancil- could be procured locally.
lary services, which will all be compensated In addition, at least 30% of total procurement
for either immediately or over a longer term by must be spent with broad-based black economic
government. empowerment businesses.
The plants should operate between 05:00 and The RMIPPPP forms part of the govern-
21:30 and must have automatic generation con- ment’s efforts to bring more private ownership
trol load following capacity factor – as well as be into the power sector, as part of wider plans to
“scalable” when capacity requirements change. lessen Eskom’s influence, increase transparency
The power must be connected to the grid by and boost investment.™

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