Step-in Rights: When the Lender Takes Over Your PPA
Lenders to PPA SPVs reserve step-in rights — meaning the funder can replace the operator if the SPV fails. What this means for off-takers.
What step-in rights are
Senior lenders to a PPA SPV reserve step-in rights — meaning if the SPV defaults on its debt, the lender can replace the operator (the SPV's management) to protect the cashflows from your kWh payments.
Why it matters to off-takers
You signed a PPA with Provider X. Three years in, Provider X's parent fund goes into distress. The lender steps in. Your contract continues — but now with a different counterparty managing day-to-day operations.
What good step-in rights look like for off-takers
- Notification requirement: you're told before step-in happens, not after
- Continuation of service: O&M, monitoring, REGO administration uninterrupted
- Performance ratio guarantees survive step-in
- Replacement operator must meet credit minimum
- Right to terminate if step-in operator fails to meet contractual standards
Watch-out clauses
- "Pay direct to lender" clauses — diverts your payments mid-contract
- "Waiver of set-off" — prevents you from offsetting performance failures
- Force-majeure carve-outs that wouldn't apply to step-in operator
Recent step-in cases
UK has seen 3-4 notable step-ins since 2022 — primarily where SPV parents over-extended into utility-scale rather than commercial. Off-taker contracts continued without interruption in all cases.
See what tariff your site qualifies for
A 60-second form gives us enough to match your site to providers and return an indicative tariff range within one working day.
Get an indicative PPA tariffStep-in rights exist to keep the contract running if the provider fails, which is why they matter to you as the offtaker as well as to the lender.
Ask us what a PPA would cost at your site
Step-in Rights: When the Lender Takes Over Your PPA — tell us about your site and we'll return an indicative p/kWh tariff for it. Reply by email within one working day.