Rand Merchant Bank has acquired a 25% stake in Remgro’s Ubiquity Energy platform, the holding company of Energy Exchange.
Energy Exchange is a NERSA-licensed electricity provider, offering corporate clients an alternative renewable source of electricity produced by independent power generators.
Chaired by Johann Rupert, Remgro launched Energy Exchange after it realised that energy security in SA posed a threat to potential investors.
The company invested in companies specialising in PV technologies and installations to provide backup electricity to its subsidiaries: Distell, Mediclinic, and RCL Foods.
Eskom’s unpredictability and electricity price increases posed a challenge to Remgro’s businesses, so the company set out to create pricing certainty by building an energy trading platform that brings together green energy producers and electricity consumers.
Energy Exchange gives consumers access to a diverse supply of reliable, cost-effective renewable energy.
The latest deal aligns with Remgro and Rand Merchant Bank’s commitment to invest in the private power market to unlock the vast potential of SA’s natural renewable resources.
Energy Exchange will provide corporate clients with the ability to blend different sources of electricity to create a tailored energy profile. Buyers will be able to rely on energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass, which matches their needs more accurately, as opposed to just relying on a single source.
Remgro’s investments executive, Pieter Uys, revealed that they have been developing Energy Exchange over the last 5 years and have built a strong supply and demand pipeline.
“The platform offers the benefit of aggregation, allowing multiple customers to access scale benefits in procuring energy,” Uys said.
“In turn, large power generators can negotiate with a single centralised electricity buyer.”
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