Kelvin was previously jointly owned by Nedbank and Investec is going to be to be restarted by Sunday Times owner and SAA government partner Harith.
Sunday Times owner and SAA co-owner (alongside SA government) Harith General Partners announced plans to construct two gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of up to 700 megawatts at the Kelvin site, with an anticipated 2023 start date.
Kelvin power station in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, is the only privately owned coal-fired power plant in the country.
United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) grant
In 2018, Harith was awarded a grant for a feasibility study by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to look into converting Kelvin into a combined gas cycle plant and support the site as a gas hub.
The USTDA is an agency of the United States government, on its website it states that it ‘helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects‘. The study itself, was carried out by the United States-based, EHS Support LLC.
Ownership History
Since its privatization in 2001, Kelvin has had numerous proprietors. Its majority shareholder is the energy company Anergi Holdings, formerly known as Aldwych International.
Originally, the power station belonged to the City of Johannesburg. The power plant was privatized and sold to AES in 2001. AES sold the company to Globeleq in 2003.
In 2007, it was announced that a consortium led by infrastructure funds managed by the Macquarie Group, Old Mutual Investment Group, and Kagiso Trust Investments had acquired a 95% stake in the power station.
Aldwych Kelvin Holdings, a subsidiary of Aldwych International, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), and J&J Infrastructure Holdings were members of the consortium. A subsidiary of Aldwych would operate and maintain the facility under a long-term operations and maintenance agreement.
Nedbank & Investec
South African big banks, Nedbank Limited and Investec Bank Limited acquired Kelvin’s shares in 2013.
In 2015, the power plant was acquired by a consortium led by Aldwych. Aldwych, like NOVO Energy, was an investment by Harith General Partners.
Anergi
Anergi (Aldwych), a London-based company with headquarters in Mauritius, claims to provide electricity to millions of African customers. The company also owns a variety of thermal, natural gas, coal, solar, and wind power plants in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Chad.
READ MORE: Godongwana: Eskom to be divided into three entities
It is wholly owned by the Pan African Infrastructure Development Funds (PAIDF) 1 and 2, which were established in 2007 by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), a state-owned asset manager, to finance infrastructure projects throughout Africa.
Government pension involvement & Tshepo Mahloele
The pension funds of South African civil servants are invested in the PAIDF, which is also managed by Harith. Harith (co-owner of the now-privatized SAA), is founded by former PIC executive & business mogul Tshepo Mahloele, who received a loan from the PIC.
Along with ANC heavyweight Jabu Moleketi (who is a former PIC Chairperson), Mahloele is also the owner of Arena Holdings, who’s stable of publications include the Sunday Times, Sowetan, Business Day, and Financial Mail, amongst others.
In 2019 at the PIC Commission, otherwise known as the Mpati Commission, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa made accusations that Moleketi used his connections with the Public Investment Corporation (as a former PIC Chairperson) to gain access to the funds of the state-owned asset manager.
A and B stations at Kelvin have a combined capacity of 600 MW. According to the 2019 Integrated Resources Plan, its decommissioning date is in 2026.
