Photo by: Creamer Media
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) Tribunal has invited the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) to present its case this week as to why the tribunal should hear the association’s arguments in opposition to a 2017 Nersa panel report.
The document in question concluded that Eskom had not breached its license conditions by delaying, for more than two years, the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 27 renewable-energy projects procured by government in 2015.
The PPAs were eventually signed in March this year.
SAWEA believes the report should not go unchallenged, as it could open the way for similar delaying tactics by Eskom in future.
“Given the opportunity, we will argue that the findings of the investigation panel are flawed both in reasoning and in the law,” SAWEA CEO Brenda Martin said in a statement.
The Nersa investigation took place late in 2017, in response to a SAWEA complaint submitted in September 2016. However, the association believes that the panel did not take its submitted evidence into account and failed to provide reasons for its conclusions.
The tribunal will convene on Thursday, September 27.