Investec plans to offer its private banking clients funding to install solar panels and battery storage systems in homes, bolstering its own green credentials and providing a power solution in a country regularly hit by electricity outages.<\/p>\n
The offering, which follows a pilot program for 1,000 customers in South Africa, will allow clients to tap unutilized home-loan facilities or have money re-advanced to them to put in place the systems that can cost about $10,000, or significantly more depending on the size of the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are planning on giving our clients access to multiple providers and exclusive solutions,\u201d the Johannesburg-based lender said a response to questions. \u201cWe can help clients with a range of needs\u201d for personal and business, it said.<\/p>\n
While Investec says the program is in line with its strategy of committing to \u201cnet-zero direct carbon emissions,\u201d it may also appeal to people in a nation that\u2019s had to deal with rolling blackouts for more than a decade and surging tariffs as the power utility struggles to meet demand.<\/p>\n
State-owned Eskom Holdings SOC is seeking permission to boost the cost of its electricity, produced mostly from coal, by 20.5% this year.<\/p>\n