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Johannesburg- It would be a grave mistake to privatise Eskom, which is a critical player in the economy, said Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.
She also dismissed as "misguided" reports of Cabinet discussing the privatisation of state power utility.
"To my knowledge Cabinet has not discussed the matter of privatisation and there is no need to unnecessarily raise temperatures around this matter," Brown said in a statement.
"I want to indicate that there is a portfolio of options for the inter-ministerial task team to consider."
On Tuesday, Business Day reported that a team of Cabinet ministers and government officials were looking into the restructuring of Eskom's business, which included selling some of its power stations to private investors.
The options being discussed by the ministerial team representing energy, public enterprises and the treasury, have not been made public, according to the newspaper.
Brown told the newspaper it would be "premature to make pronouncements until completion of the process".
A chief executive for Eskom would be appointed shortly to advance discussions on Eskom’s "end state," according to the publication.
Brown said it would be a mistake to privatise Eskom.
"Eskom is critical for government to implement its developmental agenda. It would be a grave mistake to privatise this critical player in the economy," she said.
On July 28, the power utility painted a gloomy picture of its books, telling MPs it faced a R225bn revenue shortfall, partly as a result of being granted lower-than-expected tariff increases by the National Energy Regulator.
Eskom has been asking for an equity injection of at least R50bn to solve its cash-flow problems.
On July 30, Nersa announced it had approved the regulatory clearing account (RCA), paving the way for Eskom to raise electricity tariffs next year.
The DA on Tuesday urged for the privatisation of Eskom, saying the move would ease financial pressure on the state by getting private investors to fund electricity supply generation, increase efficiency by introducing competition and drive job creation.
"The DA has always advocated for the privatisation of electricity supply generation and the unbundling of Eskom’s supply monopoly," it said in a statement.
It also alleged that the ANC's tripartite alliance is preventing reform in the energy sector.
- Sapa with Fin24
