South Africa’s decision to modify a plan to break up its state-owned power utility Eskom into three separate entities is encountering opposition from creditors and foreign government funders.
The “revised unbundling strategy” approved by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will split Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd into distribution, generation, renewable energy and transmission subsidiaries, but under a single holding company, according to a statement posted on the utility’s website this month.
That contrasts with expectations that the company would be separated into three stand-alone units, as proposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019.
The move could threaten the further implementation of the $8.3 billion Just Transition Partnership, a program backed by European countries to help South Africa reduce its reliance on coal-fired electricity.
It may also hamper Eskom’s ability to finance the construction of as much as 14 000 kilometers of new transmission lines, according to analysts including Anton Eberhard, an emeritus professor from the
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