Two of a kind: Lessons from Tunisian Independent power projects

This paper narrates the experience of Tunisia's two independent power projects (IPPs), which were developped as part of the country's electricity supply industry reforms. Although both plants use gas as their primary energy, the two projects vary in sier, fuel supply arrangements, power purchase agreements and the legal frameworks under which they were developped. With Rades II, the country's first IPP, loans have been indexed to multiple currencies and, to date, charges to the utility remain affordable. This is partly due to the fact that ther Tunisian dinar (TND) has been relatively stable since the inception of the contracts - unlike in other emerging economies where currency evaluations have resulted insignificant increases in charges. With El Biban, the country's second IPP, fuel supply problems have interrupted production for extended periods, impacting on overall plant peformance and reenue. Although the loss in revenue is threatening the financial viability of the plant, it does not have a significant impact on the off-taker and national utility for the follwing reaason. El Biban represents less than 1 per cent of the country's installe capacity with no guaranrteed availability in terms of its contract with the off-taker. Still the plant is crucial in understanding Tunisia's overall experience as well as particularly relevant to other countries throughout