MPs worried Eskom debt relief will delay investment in renewables
UDM MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said ruling out spending on new generation projects could halt Eskom’s aspirations to ‘move into the renewable energy space’
MPs have expressed concern that some of the conditions attached to the Treasury’s debt relief plan for Eskom will “confine” the utility to generating electricity predominantly from coal. The MPs said they were worried that provisions that would bar Eskom from taking on new debt and restrict capital expenditure to transmission and maintenance would limit its ability to invest in cheaper, renewable energy generation capacity.
During a presentation by the Treasury to the standing committee on appropriation on Tuesday on the Eskom Debt Relief Bill, UDM MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said the “tacit message” being sent by these debt conditions was that Eskom’s investment focus should be on upgrading and expanding the transmission network...
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