Ailing power utility Eskom urgently needs more cash to stabilise its ballooning debt pile with the funds coming from a rise in tariffs or new equity, new CE Andre de Ruyter told lawmakers on Tuesday. Eskom, which supplies 90% of South Africa’s power but has struggled to meet demand, had a bid for a big electricity tariff increase rejected by a court this month. Eskom’s urgent application to the court for a tariff increase involved hiking rates by 16.6% from April 2020 and a further 16.7% from April 2021.
