Bond investors aren’t showing much faith in Eskom’s new boss, with yields on the company’s 2021 dollar bonds jumping the most in more than three months after the appointment of André de Ruyter.
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After months of speculation and delays, South Africa named André de Ruyter as CEO of its debt-crippled state power utility, surprising investors with an unexpected choice and angering a key union.
Andre de Ruyter has been appointed as CEO of Eskom, the debt-strapped utility that provides about 95% of the nation’s electricity and poses the biggest threat to its economy.
While the government pledged to name a new head of Eskom by the end of October, it’s missed repeated deadlines to act, evidence of how politically fraught the process has been.
Eskom has warned that the supply of electricity remains constrained, with a probability of load shedding all week.
France is weighing providing financial support to South Africa’s indebted utility Eskom, according to a newspaper report at the weekend.
The transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energies is a global pursuit. But it’s faster and more intensive in some countries than others. Take the case of South Africa.
The power-supply situation in South Africa has taken a sudden turn for the worse, with Eskom said on Thursday evening saying it plans to implement overnight stage-2 load shedding from 10pm to 5am on Friday.
Eskom said it is disappointed by the decision as the current board and management “have worked painstakingly hard to try and resolve corporate governance issues of the past regime”.
Eskom warned on Monday night that forced blackouts could return at short notice due to the “unexpected loss of some generation units over the weekend”.