South Africa confirms independent Eskom transmission amid reforms

Key topics:Ramaphosa confirms independent power-transmission company for Eskom.Reverses minister’s plan keeping grid under Eskom control.Business leaders welcome clarity on Eskom restructuring..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up for the BizNews channel here..By Ana Monteiro and Enzokuhle Sabela.South Africa will establish an independent power-transmission company, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, rebuffing efforts by his electricity minister to revise an unbundling plan.The government is restructuring state-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. “and establishing a fully independent state owned transmission entity, as I have said before,” Ramaphosa told lawmakers in his state-of-the-nation speech in Cape Town on Thursday. “This entity will have ownership and control of transmission assets and be responsible for operating the electricity market.”That’s a reversal from Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s approval of a “revised unbundling strategy” that would still split Eskom into distribution, generation, renewable energy and transmission units under a single holding company. The minister’s plan would also see ownership of the grid remain with Eskom, rather than being transferred to an independent transmission-system operator..Read more:.Enable independent power producers: Woode-Smith.Ramaphosa in 2019 proposed that Eskom would be split into three stand-alone units to create a more competitive electricity market and make it easier to manage the divisions and their debt.Business Leadership South Africa, the country’s main lobby group for firms, welcomed Ramaphosa’s announcement that it said “clearly asserts” the government’s position on the break-up of Eskom.“This issue has caused major concern, with international investors and local business leaders starting to question government’s commitment to the reform program,” said BLSA Chief Executive Officer Busisiwe Mavuso. “Certainty is important and we are encouraged by President Ramaphosa’s comments.”Spokespeople for Eskom and Ramokgopa didn’t immediately answer questions about the president’s announcement.After Ramokgopa unveiled the revised unbundling plan in December, the National Transmission Co. said it was operating on the assumption that it would continue to own the country’s power-grid assets. Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said Jan. 30 that transferring the transmission assets to a so-called Transmission System Operator may have implications for Eskom’s financing.Analysts had said Ramokgopa’s revised strategy may also jeopardize further implementation of the multi-billion-dollar Just Energy Transition Partnership, a program backed by European countries to help South Africa reduce its reliance on coal-fired power.Ramaphosa said he has started a so-called task team under the national energy-crisis committee “to address the various issues relating to the restructuring process, including clear time frames for its phase implementation.” .© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

South Africa confirms independent Eskom transmission amid reforms

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