Emergency power programme sees accusations of graft When the South African government announced the eight preferred bidders in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement (RMIPPP) programme, local experts openly questioned the tender allocation. Eight bidders will provide an additional 1,845 megawatts, generated by various technologies. The project equates to R45bn of private-sector investment. The bidders are; ACWA Power Projects DAO, Oya Energy, Umoyilanga, and two projects for Mulilo Total and three for Karpowership SA. They use technologies including solar, photovoltaic, wind, liquefied natural gas and battery storage. Turkish firm, Karpowership has been allocated two-thirds of the programme’s capacity. The company plans to use liquified natural gas to produce power. Energy expert Chris Yelland questioned the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the IPP Office about tender requirement exemptions granted to Karpowership by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) in March. Clyde Mallinson, director at Virtual Energy and Power told MyBroadband that the Karpowership SA deal will lock the country into “dirty and expensive energy for the next 20 years.” DNG Energy, a South African gas company has formalised its objection to the awarded contracts in the form of a lawsuit, claiming that the tender process was tainted by corruption.– Melani Nathan