New-look IPP bid documents will need to strike delicate balance

The new bid documentation being prepared by the Department of Energy (DoE) for future independent power producer (IPP) procurement rounds will have to strike a delicate balance between sustaining investor interest and responding to society’s demand for increased socioeconomic benefits. In fact, Allen & Overy partner Jason van der Poel, who advised government when South Africa initiated its IPP bidding programmes in 2011 and who currently advises developers and lenders, believes the DoE should take care not to “entirely reinvent the wheel” when introducing the new co-benefit clauses.