Whyalla saviour Sanjeev Gupta secures multimillion-dollar energy deal

THE man who purchased the Whyalla steelworks has beat out competitors to secure his retail energy company’s first contract — with the State Government.

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WHYALLA’S saviour has secured an energy contract potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars as part of a deal struck with the State Government.

SIMEC ZEN Energy will supply more than 80 per cent of the Government’s electricity needs in 2018 – and 100 per cent in 2019 – after the company headed by steel baron Sanjeev Gupta put forward an unsolicited bid for the contract, beating out current suppliers.

The deal means the State Government is the first customer of the company that wants to eventfully operate as a purely renewable energy retailer.

Steel baron Sanjeev Gupta. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

SIMEC ZEN will also provide the State Government with ongoing retail services for five years from November 1, 2020, when its load will be supplied by the Aurora solar thermal plant at Port Augusta.

Details of the “bridging contract”, including the value of the contract, have not been disclosed due to commercial confidence. The annual government load is about 500GWh but the contract volume will vary according to the load. A three-year contract awarded in 2015 for large government sites was worth $396 million according to the State Government’s tender and contracts website.

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis told the Sunday Mail the department awarded the contract to SIMEC ZEN because it offered more competitive pricing and a broader range of services.

The renewable energy projects will supply SIMEC ZEN once up and running but it is unclear where the retailer will purchase its energy from before then.

Mr Gupta said working hand-in-hand with governments to deliver solutions to real problems in the market place has long been the hallmark of GFG Alliance.

“This is the beginning of a journey that will see SIMEC ZEN Energy redefine the energy landscape of Australia, bringing down costs dramatically and making globally competitive energy a key advantage for Australian industry,” Mr Gupta said.