Opinion
36 min ago
SA's electricity crisis | Eskom's shocking R18bn diesel bill
JOHANNESBURG - Eskom has gone way over budget, says CFO Calib Cassim.
The utility spent R10-billion on diesel over and above the initial budget of R8-billion.
Cassim and the Eskom board gave an update to Parliament's standing committee on public accounts on Tuesday.
WATCH: Scopa meets Eskom board
CEO Andre de Ruyter says South Africa could avoid higher stages of power cuts if the power utility had more money to buy diesel.
In 2022, Scopa made recommendations on interventions at the ailing power utility that were adopted following visits to Medupi and Kusile power stations.
Scopa called on Eskom to account for progress and cost overruns.
In doing so, De Ruyter told them that the crippled state entity faces numerous issues due to financial constraints.
"Because of Eskom's financial constraints, we are unable to run our open cycles," he said.
De Ruyter said if they had more money available for diesel, the stages of power cuts would have been reduced.