Eskom chair says its transmission assets come at a price South Africa can’t afford

• Eskom's transmission assets come at a price of around R110 billion, which the South African government cannot afford at this time.
• Eskom's debt currently stands at just under R350 billion, and transferring its transmission assets without consent from lenders risks triggering default or cross-default clauses.
• The establishment of an independent Transmission System Operator (TSO) has been met with opposition from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which is demanding guarantees that workers will not lose their jobs or suffer degraded employment conditions.