Karpowership deal like shooting an ant with a shotgun — Outa
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) is suing the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) over the distribution licences it granted Karpowership, saying the potential deal is like “shooting an ant with a shotgun”.
Outa highlighted several concerns over the deal, such as the contract’s length, the cost of electricity produced by the ships, and the diminished impact it will have on load-shedding.
“I think the whole deal worries us,” said Outa executive director Stefanie Fick during an interview with 702 when asked which aspects of the deal concerned them.
“We know about the whole debacle around the environmental authorisations, but then, I don’t know if you can remember, but Nersa already gave them a distribution licence.”
“So it is that whole decision that Nersa took that we are taking on review,” she added.
Fick explained that the “emergency deal” is subject to a 20-year contract.
“Is government telling us that we’re going to have a problem for 20 years?” she said.
“These are the type of solutions that are really supposed to be an emergency solution. Twenty years is not an emergency solution.”
Quoting Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage, Fick said the signing of a 20-year “emergency deal” is like “shooting an ant with a shotgun”.
She also highlighted that the cost of energy produced by Karpowership is double or triple the current price consumers pay for electricity.
Stefanie Fick, executive director at Outa.
The 1,200MW produced by Karpowership will also likely have little effect on load-shedding.
“They are talking about R2 [per kWh]. We have calculated it might cost us around R5 [per kWh],” Fick said.
“You’re talking about 1,200MW. That will maybe change a stage of load-shedding. Karpowership is not the solution to the big energy crisis we have in South Africa.”
Fick explained Outa’s concern that a state of disaster could let the African National Congress (ANC) push the deal through without contest.
“Unfortunately, if we look at history, I think the trust deficit that we experienced after state capture and the PPE corruption during the whole Covid pandemic.”
“I don’t blame anybody and I do not blame ourselves for thinking that, if we have another state of disaster, that they will find a way to push through this deal.”
Fick added that Outa would keep its eye on the process to ensure they are not successful in pushing the deal through.
“Because the deal, at the end of the day, is not in the best interest of South Africa.”
In August 2022, Karpowership failed in its bid to overturn an environmental ruling against its plans.
South Africa’s minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment, Barbara Creecy, dismissed Karpowership’s initial application after environmental activists lodged complaints about its impact in 2021.
However, Karpowership will be allowed to correct “perceived gaps” in its application following its failed appeal of the decision.
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