Eskom insists that it is processing budget quotes for independent power producers (IPPs) seeking to connect to the national grid, in line with agreed timelines, and that it is making every effort to debottleneck the process so that much-needed new generation capacity can be introduced speedily. COO Jan Oberholzer indicated during a load-shedding briefing that the utility was seeking clarity from both the IPP Office and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy regarding recent statements indicating that financial close on 25 wind and solar projects had been delayed from the end of April to accommodate the issuing of budget quotations by Eskom.