Understanding Power Purchase Agreements was the first in a series of four understanding manuals that have currently printed more than 65,000 copies and downloaded tens of thousands of additional copies. The Accord series has been translated into French and Amharic and used by USAID, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the African Union for capacity building. Most importantly, the manuals have been praised by ministries, regulators and industry representatives for their accessibility and have been widely adopted by governments across Africa. Negotiating trade agreements remains a major challenge for companies around the world, even with advances in technology, economic modeling and best practices. In negotiations, each party must strike a balance between defending its own interests and seeking common ground. Even after an agreement has been reached, drafting a contract that accurately reflects the breadth and nuances of the agreement can still pose challenges. Despite their enthusiasm at the beginning of the treaty negotiations, a party`s failure to seek balance and clarity can quickly lead to apathy or, worse, to a unilateral agreement doomed to failure. Prior to joining Dickinson Law in 2019, Professor Badissy served as Senior Counsel for Energy and Finance in the U.S. Department of Commerce`s Commercial Law Development Program, advising emerging market governments on commercial law reforms designed to catalyze private investment in energy infrastructure.
During his consultations with dozens of governments around the world, Professor Badissy observed a divergence in the understanding of best practices surrounding the successful development of energy projects, particularly in markets where this type of significant private investment in infrastructure had not taken place. For the second edition of Understanding Power Purchase Agreements, Professor Badissy brought together many original authors and invited new voices to update the original manual based on the rapid development of the African energy sector. The updated manuals also include case studies on negotiating power purchase agreements for small and large projects, as well as new guidance on emerging issues in African power markets, such as trade and industrial power purchase agreements and cross-border agreements. A business power purchase agreement (PPA) is a long-term contract in which a company commits to purchase electricity directly from an energy producer. These structured agreements provide financial security for utilities and developers and remove a significant barrier to financing and building new renewable assets. Based on the myriad of considerations and consequences associated with each of the fundamental terms of the PPA, it was decided that the CLDP and ALSF should create a reference manual that explains each term of the contract in detail, rather than creating another standard PPA. In November 2014, CLDP and ALSF convened a distinguished panel of experts, including representatives from Nigeria`s Bulk Electricity Trading PLC, tanzania`s Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority, the World Bank, CIPO, the African Development Bank, the African Finance Corporation and leading U.S. law firms, from Africa, Europe and Asia. Recognizing that the dissemination of best practices in contracts, financing and procurement of energy projects could only succeed if there was confidence in the neutrality and credibility of the source, Professor Badissy advocated the development of an open source knowledge library through a joint authorship process that incorporated a wide range of expertise and background. In November 2014, after two years of outreach and consensus-building, Professor Badissy brought together a diverse group of contributors from African governments, multilateral institutions, development banks, private developers and leading international law firms to draft what became Understanding Power Purchase Agreements.
The manual is a practical guide for governments and other decision-makers, explaining the legal structuring and allocation of risk in electricity project contracts in plain language and presenting officials with strategies on how to manage these legal and financial obligations. DLA Piper is proud to announce its global guide to enterprise power purchase agreements. This interactive and dedicated online resource covers business-related topics that are important to practitioners, in-house lawyers, and businesses seeking to understand the key intricacies of enterprise power purchase agreements: the structures of PPAs and the parties involved; challenges; and regulatory issues. It provides information from 27 jurisdictions around the world. See, for example, information about the United States here. Understanding Power Purchase Agreements — Second Edition was presented and discussed by Professor Badissy and several of his co-authors in three virtual sessions at the African Energy Forum (the Global Investment Meeting for Africa`s Energy, Energy, Infrastructure and Industry Sectors, attended by more than 4,000 participants) from 26 to 28 October 2020. .