Eskom’s debt below R400bn amid funding talks, Gordhan says

1st July 2021

By: Bloomberg

  

Font size: - +

South African power utility Eskom Holdings has reduced its debt to less than R400-billion as discussions ensue to secure funding for a transition to renewable energy, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.

The state-owned company announced in May it had reduced debt by a fifth to about R401-billion.

“Eskom has done further work to reduce the debt to below R400-billion,” Gordhan said Wednesday by phone from the capital, Pretoria. “The exact number is still a work in progress,” he said, without providing more details.

Eskom hasn’t been producing enough electricity to meet the nation’s needs, resulting in intermittent power shortages. The utility isn’t generating enough cash to cover its operating expenses and interest bill, leaving it dependent on government bailouts to survive.

Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter has taken measures to cuts costs and find green funding to reduce the company’s reliance on government support. That could be dependent on it retiring coal-fired power plants ahead of schedule.

“We have had quite a few discussions with quite a few interested parties, including many development finance institutions, who are prepared to provide concessional funding to Eskom” for a transition to clean energy, Gordhan said. “The ultimate solution will be to integrate all these solutions to enable a just energy transition.”

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION