Fixing loss-making power utility Eskom is complex and it will take time for the government and the company to agree to a plan, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
Browsing: Energy and sustainability
Government is intent on ensuring the embattled Eskom becomes a sustainable entity and will consult with its debt holders on any reorganisation, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan said.
Eskom managed to keep the lights on in winter and aims to continue averting load shedding while balancing the need to increase maintenance to protect against the risk of unreliable plant performance.
Eskom’s power system “remains tight and vulnerable” going into the summer because of increased maintenance.
South Africa should quicken the process of spinning off one of Eskom’s units as a first step toward overhauling its operating structure, according to two people familiar with the options being presented to the government.
Zimbabweans are relying on Tesla to help them pay their bills. Amid power outages of as long as 18 hours a day, Econet Wireless is turning to the Palo Alto, California-based automaker for batteries that can keep its base stations running.
Eskom has rejected proposals by national treasury that it sell some plants to reduce its debt mountain, a lawmaker said.
Eskom’s Medupi Unit 1 was synchronised to the grid on Tuesday evening, ahead of schedule. Unit 1 is the last unit to be synchronised to the grid at the Lephalale-based plant.
Government could decide that Eskom must sell some of its coal-fired power stations as part of the restructuring of the power utility, national treasury said.
Eskom, struggling with more than R440-billion in debt, has said it will take as long as three to five years to comply with the government’s plan to split the company into three separate units.