- Turkish company Karpowership, which provides electricity to off-takers via ships that run on fossil fuels, has been accused of corruption and payment irregularities by Lebanese authorities.
- The Turkish firm provides 400 MW of power from two ships that have been anchored off Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast since 2013.
- This past week, Lebanon’s Financial Prosecutor asked for Karpowership’s vessels to be seized pending an investigation into the renewal of the power supply contracts.
In June 2012, Karpowership signed a contract with the Lebanese Electricity Utility (EDL) to deploy two power ships with a total of 404 MW generation capacity. Karadeniz Powership Fatmagül Sultan and Orhan Bey have been in operation in the ports of Zouk and Jieh since 2013. In 2018, the contract period was extended for an additional 3 years, making the contract duration 9 years in total. Karpowership has been supplying 25% of Lebanon’s total electricity needs.
In press statement released by Karpowership last night, the company says it is owed around USD 100 million by Lebanon since July last year, and the figure has since risen. The company denies the corruption allegations and has responded by serving a final notice that it will suspend its services in the country.
Kapowership has also been under the spotlight in South Africa where it has been awarded preferred bidders status to supply the state owned energy utility, Eskom, with 1220MW of power at three port locations. Read more
One of the losing bidders, DNG Power has gone to the high court in South Africa to overturn the government’s appointment of preferred bidders for the supply of emergency power in the country’s 2000MW Risk Mitigation Independent Power Procurement Programme Tender (RMIPPPP), claiming the tender process was “grossly and blatantly flawed, corrupt and procedurally unfair”.
The explosive allegations have been made in an affidavit by Aldworth Mbalati, the founder and chief executive of DNG Power Holdings. His company had hoped to win a substantial part of the RMIPPPP tender. Read more
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
