ESKOM would know early next year if the World Bank had approved a loan of up to 5bn, the bank said yesterday.
If successful, the loan arrangement would relieve some of the pressure the utility is facing in raising R385bn for its expansion programme.
It would also be the largest loan granted to SA by the bank, and an indication of how the electricity crisis has forced SA to borrow from such institutions.
Securing money from sources other than tariffs and the government has become critical for Eskom as a lack of funds threatens key projects.
The utility last week confirmed that it had put on hold new contracts for its Kusile power station in Mpumalanga until there was clarity on its application for a 45% tariff increase in each of the next three years.
Even with the requested increase, Eskom would still have a R30bn shortfall.
World Bank spokesman Sarwat Hussein said yesterday that a decision on the loan was likely early next year.
Earlier this month, the World Bank said Eskom had applied for the initial three tranches of the loan, to fund projects at its Medupi coal-fired power station in Limpopo and renewable energy and low-carbon energy-efficiency programmes.
“The target is still 5bn but our loan application thus far is 3,75bn,” a senior Eskom official said yesterday.
“The step we are at at the moment is that the World Bank has published the loan application and they invite comments from stakeholders.”
In a project fact sheet, the bank said 3bn of the loan would be spent on the 4800MW Medupi power station , while 260m would go towards wind and concentrated solar power projects — which would be a lifeline for projects Eskom put on hold when funds dried up.
The bank said 490m would fund initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which would include improving power plant efficiency.
Possibly in anticipation of criticism for supporting a coal plant, the bank said the loan met its criteria for supporting coal-fired power stations. With Reuters
njobenis@bdfm.co.za