This is according to Dawie Roodt, chief economist of the Efficient Group, who told the City Press it was “foolish” for Eskom to borrow any more money at present.
Godongwana stressed the programme would include strict conditions that Eskom and other stakeholders would have to meet before and during the debt transfer. Thomas Garner, the chairperson of the SA Independent Power Producers Association , said that when one takes the estimated cost of wind power, solar power, and battery storage, and applies that to the project’s expected output, one could estimate that this part of the Komati project would cost about R5.6 billion.
However, Roodt argued that it is not Eskom’s responsibility to get support from these communities, and this cost should not be added to electricity tariffs.Eskom told the City Press that if it complies with the prescribed legal and regulatory process for the conversion process, it will be able to recover the costs of the loan through electricity tariffs as depreciation and return on capital.