The National Energy Regulator of South African has rejected Eskom’s application to reserve grid connection capacity for public IPPs in the upcoming Bid Window 7 procurement process.

Eskom submitted an application to NERSA in May, stating that reserving grid capacity for public IPPs would ensure the success of public procurement programs, which is in the public’s best interest.

Without the ability to reserve the grid, these programmes would not be able to compete with private sector programmes, Eskom said. It was this that led to the failure of Bid Window 6, the utility said.

“Bid Window 7 aims to procure 5 GW of renewable energy scheduled to reach commercial operation in about 18 to 24 months. A successful Bid Window 7 will ensure that renewable energy is added to the grid timeously to address the country’s energy needs,” a spokesperson from Eskom told Energize.

“Recent amendments to Schedule 2 of the Energy Regulation Act (ERA) have resulted in increased competition for limited grid capacity. The application to NERSA was intended to establish two concurrent procurement processes to facilitate the faster integration of renewable energy into the grid, involving both the private sector and public procurement,” the spokesperson said.

Eskom added that the success of these public procurement programmes is vital to attracting foreign investment.

The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) agrees, expressing concerns about the future of renewable energy in South Africa: “A foundational public procurement programme is instrumental in stimulating socioeconomic development and contributing towards energy security as we transition to a low carbon energy system,” it said in a statement.

The application was rejected because Eskom failed to disclose who would be affected and disadvantaged by the new policy, according to NERSA. “Eskom has not identified the specific customers, or classes of customers, that it intends to discriminate against, which is required for the energy regulator to approve the application.” NERSA also said that Eskom couldn’t provide clear reasons for treating public and private IPPs differently.

Eskom has disagreed with the ruling. The utility told Energize: “Eskom believes that it provided all the information required by NERSA to make a decision.”