Ramokgopa confident Eskom cash injection will pay off

JOHANNESBURG - Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the nearly R80 billion cash injection from National Treasury will allow Eskom to ramp up planned maintenance and rid the country of load shedding once and for all.

Ramokgopa provided an update on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, the introduction of a 10-point plan at Eskom to stop rolling blackouts and an update on the company's new leadership.

Having already received R44 billion from the total R78 billion, Ramokgopa said the new leadership at the embattled State-owned entity has already hit the ground running in an attempt to turn things around.

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Group CEO Dan Marokane has his work cut out for him but according to the minster, this new bout of fiscal support will enable him to address most of the issues facing Eskom.

"I think there is a relationship between the amount of maintenance we can do and the available funding. There has been a significant erosion of Eskom's balance sheet. Of course, we are on track to fix that problem."

A confident Ramokgopa added that Eskom's leadership would not be taking any short cuts when it comes to maintenance.