As speculation swirls about plans to deal with Eskom Holdings’ crippling debt load, one group of stakeholders hasn’t been consulted – owners of the company’s R243-billion of bonds. South Africa’s State-owned power utility is groaning under almost R500-billion of bond and loan debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and isn’t selling enough electricity to cover its operating and borrowing costs. While it’s already been given a three-year, R69-billion bailout by the government, the company had to ask for emergency funding last month to remain solvent.
