Our Energy team is recognised as a market leader in South African and the Sub-Saharan Africa energy sectors. The dedicated team of professionals has a significant depth of energy skills, experiences and transaction know-how, and is ideally suited to advise developers, off-takers, government entities, contractors and financiers across the full spectrum of the project chain the South African Renewable Energy Programme and the Coal, Natural Gas and Cogeneration IPP procurement programmes that are expected to be launched imminently.

Our Energy team has considerable experience having advised on complex energy and infrastructure projects and wide-ranging assignments. We advise governments, government departments and agencies, and private sector sponsors, lenders, contractors, project companies, utilities and consortia.

Our services include:

• Restructuring and deregulation.
• Planning, development, environmental and regulatory.
• Procurement, competition law, employment law, property/real estate law, social investment policies, black economic empowerment, governing law and dispute resolution, and health and safety.
• Negotiating project specific documents including concession agreements under public-private partnerships, power purchase agreements for all types of generation schemes, operating and maintenance agreements, engineer, procure and construct contracts, interface agreements, technology, licensing agreements, connection agreements, distribution/transmission use of systems agreements and fuel supply agreements across the fuel supply spectrum.
• Acquisitions and disposals of assets and entities.
• Structuring complex joint ventures and project entities.
• Tax, exchange control and customs and excise.
• Advising on the financing and refinancing of projects consisting of the negotiation of all financing agreements including security structures and instruments, and carbon trading matters.

Sector Area Rankings

• Chambers Global 2017–2021 ranked our Projects & Energy in Band 3 for projects & energy.
• Chambers Global 2013–2016 ranked us in Band 2 for projects & energy.
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2009–2021 recommended us in Tier 2 for projects & infrastructure.
• IFLR1000 2019-2020 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for Project development: Power, Project development: Infrastructure.
• IFLR1000 2016–2018 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for energy and infrastructure: corporate and project finance.
• IFLR1000 2015 ranked our practice in Tier 3 for energy and infrastructure: disputes and corporate, and in Tier 2 for energy and infrastructure: project development, financial and project finance.
• We were awarded the inaugural Law Firm of the Year award in 2012  by the South African Wind Energy Association.
• We received the Energy Law Firm of the Year award in the 2011 and 2012 Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards.
• We were awarded the Public Procurement Law Firm of the Year – Africa in the Finance Monthly Law Awards.

Ranked Practitioners

• Jay Govender is the head of the Projects & Energy sector. Chambers Global 2021 ranked her in Band 3 for projects & energy. 2016–2020 she was ranked in Band 4 for projects & energy. The Legal 500 EMEA 2015–2021 recommended her for projects & infrastructure. IFLR1000 2018-2020 recommended Jay as a highly regarded lawyer for energy and infrastructure and for project development. IFLR1000 2017 recommended her as a leading lawyer in this area.