Eskom asserts that it has not agreed to pay more for coal from Optimum mine
Eskom confirmed that it may allow Optimum Coal Mine to halve the amount of coal it is contracted to deliver each month, but disputed that it was willing to double the price it paid. The state-owned power utility responded to a story headlined Eskom to bail out Gupta mine, published by City Press on Sunday, with a statement on Monday denying that it was in discussions to pay up to R450 per tonne. "Discussions with Eskom’s attorneys indicate that the power utility is willing to pay up to R450 per tonne of coal from the mine, more than double the R200 it is currently paying," City Press reported. Former public protector Thuli Madonsela wrote in her State of Capture report, published in October 2016, that Eskom had forced Glencore to sell Optimum colliery to Gupta-owned Tegeta by refusing to amend the contract, and furthermore assisted the Guptas to finance the deal by making a R660m prepayment for coal. "Eskom is currently considering the business rescue practitioners’ proposal to redu...
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