Image: Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said on Thursday the state power utility could become financially viable and do without government bailouts if it could more than halve its debt to R200-billion.
Eskom has about R450-billion of debt and is mired in financial crisis as it does not generate enough earnings to meet its debt costs.
Power demand has fallen by an average of 6GW because of the economic impact of the coronavirus
Eskom produces more than 90% of the electricity in South Africa but has battled to keep the lights on, a factor that helped push the country into recession even before the coronavirus crisis struck.
De Ruyter couldn’t say how long it would take to slash Eskom’s debt to R200-billion or achieve a 35% earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margin, another metric it thinks will make its business said the company would start a “renegotiation process” with independent power producers to try to lower electricity costs for consumers.
Power demand has fallen by an average of 6GW because of the economic impact of the coronavirus, chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer said.