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EETC demands solar power companies for third instalment of cost-sharing agreement The cost-sharing agreement includes linking solar power plants with the national electricity grid, as well as the infrastructure of Banban area in Aswan.
Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) has addressed solar energy investors in Aswan to pay the third instalment of the cost-sharing agreement worth EGP 10m for each company before 1 July. The cost-sharing agreement includes linking solar power plants with the national electricity grid, as well as the infrastructure of Banban area in Aswan. Hisham Tawfik, head of Cairo Solar Company, said the ministry is collecting the third instalment of the agreement, while the projects' fate is unclear after international financial institutions dropped the funding. He continued: "If we do not pay the third instalment of cost-sharing on time, the letter of guarantee will be liquidated." Tawfik was astonished about the government's ignorance of the feed-in tariff projects after international financial institutions dropped the projects. He said that officials should meet with investors to reach appropriate solutions for all parties. An official said the minister of electricity will meet with an official from a sovereign body next week, as well as a number of officials from different governmental bodies to review suggestions for feed-in tariff projects. He added that investors have sought to meet the minister, "but [the minister's] busy schedule suggested otherwise," he noted. The source said the minister received a report stating that 10 companies are ready to complete the projects and sign a power purchase agreement with EETC. The report said that the investors held talks with Egyptian banks to finance the projects, regardless of the item of arbitration. Head of debt capital markets at the Commercial International Bank (CIB) Heba Abdel Latif said the bank agreed with two energy companies to finance their projects in Banban in Egyptian pounds, noting that CIB is negotiating with seven other companies. She said that CIB will grant the companies loans in Egyptian pounds. However, she noted, companies seek US dollars to import equipment—which the bank is considering now.
