The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has announced that Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro will step down as Head of the Independent Power Producers (IPP) Office on April 30. Magoro has held the position for almost five years, having started his term on May 1, 2020.
According to a media advisory issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the Public Finance Management Act and governance best practices generally require employees within state-owned entities, particularly those holding senior positions, to vacate their positions on conclusion of their fixed-term contracts.
To ensure continuity, an interim head will be appointed while the recruitment process for a permanent successor takes place, Jacob Mbele, Director-General for the DMRE said. “Stakeholders are assured that Magoro’s departure will not disrupt ongoing or future bid windows nor will it result in delays in the procurement of new generation capacity,” he added.
The DBSA, DMRE and IPP Office expressed gratitude for Magoro’s contribution to the renewable energy sector. “Mr Magoro has made an exceptional contribution to the IPP Office during his tenure. We are grateful for his leadership in advancing the IPP Office’s critical work in South Africa’s renewable energy sector,” Mbele said.
According to the latest IPP Office report, as of September 30 last year, the IPP Procurement Programme (IPPPP) selected 141 IPPs as preferred bidders – of which 112 reached financial close. Of these, 95 IPP projects are operational, contributing 7 335 MW to the grid. When all 112 are operational, they will contribute 9 258 MW of renewable energy to the grid. These figures include 123 preferred bidders selected under Renewable Energy IPPPP bid windows one to six, 11 preferred bidders from the Risk Mitigation IPPPP, five under the Battery Energy Storage IPPPP and two Peaker projects.
Of the 123 preferred bidders selected under the Renewable Energy IPPPP, 104 reached financial close by September 30 last year and will contribute 7 825 MW to the grid.
According to the Integrated Resource Plan 2019, 20 400 MW of new capacity from renewable energy needs to be added to the energy mix by 2030 – 14 400 MW from wind (45,7% of total new capacity by 2030) and 6 000 MW from solar (19,1% of total new capacity by 2030).
