Eskom Debt Skyrockets To R480-billion, Documents Show

Eskom’s gross debt surged to R480-billion after the struggling state-owned power utility borrowed from its lines of credit, documents seen by Bloomberg show.

The increase, from a previously disclosed level of R454-billion, comes as the company struggles to meet running costs, including a debt-service bill, despite a government bailout. Inadequate maintenance of its ageing power plants led to rolling nationwide blackouts earlier this month.

Over the past year, Eskom clinched a R15-billion syndicated loan with commercial banks, a R7-billion loan from the China Development Bank and a R5-billion facility from South Africa’s Public Investment Corp, the documents show.

Eskom declined to comment on a query about its debt level.

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