At an inter-ministerial energy briefing on Monday , Gondongwana said that the government’s plans to deal with Eskom’s R400 billion debt would be revealed in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in October.
The minister said there is no need to discuss a drawdown to support Eskom’s maintenance plan, as the power utility is yet to approach National Treasury in this regard. Nedbank’s chief executive officer Mike Brown also agreed that South Africa’s plan to take over part of Eskom’s R396 billion debt is in the “right direction” because the power utility is “too big to fail.”
“Otherwise, Eskom will continue relying on government support and remain a constraint to economic growth and a threat to the sustainability of the public finances,” said the IMF.The government is planning to cut red tape and reduce regulatory requirements for renewable projects in the country, according to an array of ministers making up the newly formed Energy Crisis Committee.
“We have already identified five electricity transmission corridors, and when this particular infrastructure is located within those transmissions corridors, and we have worked with Eskom on identifying those corridors that these provisions about not needing an EIA would kick in if it’s areas of low and medium sensitivity,” said Creecy.