South Africa's Eskom wants state to take on $7.2b of its debt

Eskom's chairman Jabu Mabuza gestures during the 2018/19 interim results at the Eskom's head office at Megawatt Park, in Sunninghill, South Africa. [Photo: Reuters]

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s struggling state-run power firm Eskom wants the government to take on 100 billion rand ($7.2 billion) of its debt to shore up its balance sheet, Eskom Chairman Jabu Mabuza told the Business Day newspaper.

Cash-strapped Eskom, which supplies more than 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity, is struggling to emerge from a financial crisis and has implemented power cuts over the past week because of coal shortages and poor plant performance.