Eskom Aware Load Shedding May Lead To Credit Rating Downgrade For SA

JOHANNESBURG – Eskom said that it understood that its inability to keep the lights on may lead to a credit rating downgrade for the country.

Moody’s has warned that the power utility remained the single greatest threat to the country’s economy earning junk status.

Eskom on Friday announced that rolling blackouts would continue until it resolved its capacity problems.

*How to check your load shedding schedule

It said that it needed 18 months to overhaul its failing system, which means load shedding would be a reality for a while.

CEO Andre de Ruyter: “And once that plan is properly populated and we understand what the demand side measures are available that we can use to create additional headroom for us to implement this programme, then we’ll be able to, with a much better degree of certainty say what disruption can be expected and at that stage, we’ll be able to communicate.”

The power utility said that it understood the impact load shedding had and was working tirelessly to solve its problems.

It remains to be seen whether ratings agencies will downgrade South Africa due to the crisis at Eskom.

De Ruyter also said that stabilising Eskom meant rooting out corruption and state capture at the power utility.

He said that eradicating corruption was one of his top prioritise.

“We’re very aware of the need for us to prevent corruption and I can give you the assurance that we are being very careful in how we assess and award contracts – we are really scrutinising those contracts to ensure that there is no leakage.”

EWN