My name is Earl
Fears have lingered regarding political trends in South America, notably Bolivia, though Earl insists he is on good terms with the left wing regime under Evo Morales, the first indigenous head of state since the Spanish Conquest more than 470
years ago.
Interim figures to June proved that the power generation businesses are performing well, revealing a powerful nine-fold revenue leap to £9.4 million and a surge in profits from £190,000 to £7 million as key projects got underway. Earl says: ‘We really are national news in Bolivia and Argentina now.’
Earl is also pioneering with Independent Power Southern Africa (IPSA), which he listed on AIM in 2005, with a plan to develop and own power generation facilities. And IPSA is looking to buy, refurbish and operate existing power plants in southern Africa.
‘IPSA is pure power development,’ explains Earl. ‘We are building the first privately owned power plant in South Africa, since 95 per cent of South Africa’s capacity is state owned.’ The company is helping to improve lives in a nation where 32 per cent of South Africans have no access to electricity at home, and where peak demand for electricity is forecast to exceed existing power capacity by the end of 2006.
In another first, Earl has just listed IPSA on the alternative exchange of the JSE in Johannesburg, the first AIM venture to make such a move, in order to secure the backing of South African institutions. He also sees opportunities to develop power plants in neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia, which have relied thus far on South African electricity exports. Followers of Earl await his next move with interest.
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Name: Peter Earl
Title: Chief executive of IPC, IPSA, Rurelec
Career hero: Sir Christopher Chataway. ‘He was one of my heroes when I was at school, so to actually get to work alongside him at the UN was great,’ says Earl.
Chataway was one of the two pacemakers who helped Roger Bannister run a mile in less than four minutes, and became a Conservative politician who served in the Heath government.
Rule of thumb? ‘One of life’s great truisms is the learning curve. As you gain more experience, it takes you less time to do things, and each time we do a power project we are better at it the next time around. So, my advice is to work to your strengths and don’t try to be all things to all men.’