Eskom Mulls Private, Foreign Options on $21 Billion Grid Build
- South African ministries discussing financing with utility
- Eskom plans to build 8,835 miles of power lines in next decade
High-voltage electricity transmission towers in Cape Town.
Photographer: Dwayne Senior/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said it’s in talks with government ministries over private and foreign options to fund a 390 billion-rand ($21 billion) expansion of its transmission network as more renewable generation comes online.
Eskom supplies more than 80% of electricity to the continent’s most industrialized nation and has failed to meet demand, resulting in blackouts that have crippled the economy. The utility also owns, manages and maintains the transmission system and plans to build 14,218 kilometers (8,835 miles) of power lines over the next decade, more than three times what it has installed over the past 10 years.