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National Treasury's plan to make Eskom pay interest on the debt relief funding it receives passed another test on Tuesday as the National Council of Provinces voted in favour of the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Bill.
The amendment will allow Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to charge interest on the billions in debt relief funding currently set to be provided to the utility.
Despite opposition from the DA and EFF, the amendment was passed with 25 votes in favour and 15 against the amendment.
Eskom received R44 billion from National Treasury as part of the R78 billion allocated to the utility in 2023/24.
R78 billion and R66 billion were allocated to the utility for the next two years, but this has been reduced by R2 billion in both periods, owing to Eskom's inability to dispose of the Eskom Finance Company, which was one of the conditions of the loan.
READ | Budget 2024: Tough love and no money for Transnet
As things stand, the debt relief funding is interest free, but the amendment to introduce interest on the money is now heading to the president, who will decide whether to sign the amendment into law.
The 2024 Budget explained the rationale for the amendment:
DA representative Dennis Ryder explained that the party's opposition to the amendment was based on the inflationary impact that electricity tariff hikes, put in place to increase Eskom's revenue, were having on the country.
The EFF's Mbali Dlamini said Eskom needed the money for other purposes, such as plant maintenance.
