Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has defended the awarding of a tender to former Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer under the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP), saying the process was transparent and complied fully with the requirements of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
Mulio, a company chaired by Oberholzer, was announced as the winning bidder last week. Ramokgopa previously said Mulio and Scatec was awarded the bid out of 33 bid responses to develop 616MW/2,464 MWh of new battery storage capacity, at a cost of R9.5bn across five substations in the Free State.
Oberholzer joined Mulio in 2023 shortly after retiring from his position at Eskom, where he oversaw crucial projects including getting Medupi and Kusile fully operational and managing major maintenance projects at Koeberg.
The awarding of the BESIPPPP tender to Mulilo has come under scrutiny by the MK party, the official opposition, and the Black Business Council. Both have raised concern about the company’s credibility, citing Oberholzer’s senior role at Eskom prior to his involvement.
Mulilo has previously been awarded seven projects in SA’s REIPPPP, six of which (including wind and solar) are operational and one project from the fifth bidding round is under development. It was also awarded two projects under the risk mitigation independent power producer round.
Together these projects represent 910MW of renewable generation capacity. The projects that are operational include 180MW of solar and 240MW of wind capacity.
“The procurement process was conducted under the established frameworks of the Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO), guided by the principles of transparency, competitiveness and value for money,” Ramokgopa said in a statement.
The minister will formally write to the chair of the portfolio committee on electricity and energy to request that the department and the IPPO be granted an opportunity to brief the committee on the appointment process and respond to any concerns that may be raised by MPs.”
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