South Africa Agrees Pact to Fix Indebted State Power Utility
- Private businesses will be allowed to produce own power
- Eskom gets nod to renegotiate contracts for green power, coal
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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South Africa’s government, business groups and labor unions said they have agreed on a pact to turn the country’s debt-stricken state-owned power utility around and increase electricity output to address rolling blackouts.
The accord, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg, calls for Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s 488 billion rand ($30 billion) of debt to be reduced and for adequate resources to be “mobilized” to ensure it becomes financially sustainable -- but is scant on detail on how this will be done.