Eskom’s gross debt surged to R480-billion after the struggling state-owned power utility borrowed from its lines of credit, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
The increase, from a previously disclosed level of R454-billion, comes as the company struggles to meet running costs, including a debt-service bill, despite a government bailout. Inadequate maintenance of its ageing power plants led to rolling nationwide blackouts earlier this month.
Over the past year, Eskom clinched a R15-billion syndicated loan with commercial banks, a R7-billion loan from the China Development Bank and a R5-billion facility from South Africa’s Public Investment Corp, the documents show.
Eskom declined to comment on a query about its debt level. — Reported by Antony Sguazzin, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP