PARLIAMENT - The R69 billion lifeline thrown to Eskom over the next three years will cover around 70% of Eskom's debt servicing costs, opening up room for the utility to use more of its revenue to keep the lights on, the power utility's chief executive Phakamani Hadebe said on Wednesday.
Speaking at Parliament after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni tabled South Africa's national budget, Hadebe said the R23 billion a year equity injection will go a long way towards helping the utility to pay debt costs which stood at around R32 billion a year.
This he said, will allow it to spend what it earns on operational problems which have beset Eskom.
"The priority is to ensure that we are able to spend in the right places, maintenance being the biggest challenge we have," Hadebe said.
Last week, the country experienced rotational power cuts as a result of several power stations breaking down, which had a damaging effect on the country's economy.