Eskom to sign power deals by October-end

Bloomberg

South Africa’s state-owned electricity utility will sign delayed power-purchase agreements with independent producers
by the end of October, but not before pricing on the deals is renegotiated, Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is expected to conclude agreements for 26 projects, Kubayi said in Pretoria. The power company stalled for more than a year on the government-brokered deals to buy renewable power from private generation projects, saying it’s expensive and not always available.
South Africa has sought to boost clean-energy production to displace coal-fired capacity, which dominates the system. An impasse between the utility and the Department of Energy over the deals has threatened to dent investor confidence in South Africa’s renewables sector, BMI Research said earlier this year. Eskom said in March it would sign the offtake agreements following an order from President Jacob Zuma, but has yet to do so.
The company will conclude the deals by the end of next month, spokesman Khulu Phasiwe confirmed by phone. Eskom had already committed to sign, but was asked to wait by the government, he said.
“It’s regrettable that we took so long,” Kubayi said. The minister said she agreed that prices the government pays for power from the projects aren’t affordable for Eskom and cabinet has recommended a maximum price of 0.77 rand per kilowatt-hour, which will be applied in the price renegotiation.