Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has laid out a funding plan to help the company move away from using coal.
De Ruyter said Eskom is proposing a multi-lender loan facility from development finance institutions that would be paid out in segments over several years. Mandy Rambharos, head of the Eskom department that is leading the transition, has previously said it could cost $10bn (about R146bn).
Eskom is considering 8,017MW of projects, including wind power, solar, hydropower and gas, De Ruyter said in a presentation to the presidential climate commission on Friday.
Eskom and SA are under pressure to cut emissions as SA is the world’s 12th-biggest emitter of climate-warming gases. Eskom accounts for about two-fifths of the country’s emissions.
In a separate presentation, deputy finance minister David Masondo said ways to resolve Eskom’s R400bn debt burden included asking for debt forgiveness at the sovereign level in exchange for meeting climate goals;listing the company on a stock exchange; or inviting foreign utilities to take a stake.
Masondo said he wasn’t in favour of shifting a portion of Eskom’s debt onto the state balance sheet or putting it in a special-purpose vehicle. The proposals aren’t the views of the National Treasury, he said.
A better Eskom and a more just energy future is possible though, if we pursue a swift transition to renewable energy that benefits all South Africans. Renewable energy is now South Africa’s cheapest form of energy. And it is creating jobs. Research shows that compared to sticking to our polluting system, a 100% renewable-energy future can create 200 000 more jobs by 2030 and one million more by 2050. It would also lower the cost of energy by 25%, save 196-billion litres of water a year, make our energy system more reliable, and remove our biggest source of air, water and climate pollution.
With millions of people still lacking access to electricity, we must also ensure affordable energy for all. Renewable energy provides the most affordable and fastest way to provide universal energy access. Low-income South Africans deserve an expansion of the insufficient indigent free electricity allocation, rather than constantly being cut off and load-shedd. We must reject the inhumanity of leaving the poorest and most vulnerable in our society out in the dark and in the cold, especially with the onset of winter. We must ensure energy for everyone, so that all South Africans can have the power they need to meet their basic needs.
