President Cyril Ramaphosa’s expert task team has recommended that Eskom be broken into two state-owned companies.<\/p>\n
According to BusinessDay<\/a><\/strong>, the idea was mooted at the cabinet lekgotla this week, with Ramaphosa hoping to announce the change during his state of the nation address on 7 February.<\/p>\n The first company will reportedly focus on generation and will be responsible for the running and maintenance of Eskom’s power stations.<\/p>\n The second company will focus on transmission and\u00a0will own and operate the national grid.<\/p>\n This system would allow the grid company to buy power from the best-priced supplier – including wind and solar producers, sources told BusinessDay.<\/p>\n Eskom is currently R419 billion in debt and has continued to lose money hand over fist.<\/p>\n In addition to monetary concerns, it has also had to deal with the growing issues of a bloated workforce and ageing and poorly maintained plants can\u2019t always produce enough power to meet declining demand.<\/p>\n While tariff increases, staff cuts and government bailouts all remain as possible alternatives, experts\u00a0have previously stated<\/a><\/strong> that breaking up the company might ultimately be the only way to save it.<\/p>\n
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