The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) has welcomed a new fast-tracked payment mechanism that will see independent power producers (IPPs) paid the full estimated value of their curtailment compensation claims upfront.
In a statement, SAPVIA said the new approach would ease a cash-flow squeeze that had been particularly difficult for broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) equity partners to absorb.
The mechanism was set out by the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) and its Central Purchasing Agency during a bilateral engagement with SAPVIA on July 22.
The meeting was convened after curtailment instructions to IPPs rose from roughly 100 a month earlier this year to more than 1 000 a month, generating a substantial backlog of deemed energy claims and invoices and stretching the administrative processes used to verify and settle them.
In a July 24 statement, the NTCSA said the value of curtailment claims under verification and settlement had been reduced from about R2-billion in mid-June to R1.5-billion, and that it is targeting completion of remaining assessments and payment of approved claims by the end of August.
