Eskom says gets R15bn loan from lending consortium

South Africa’s struggling power firm Eskom has agreed a R15 billion ($1.1 billion) loan facility with a consortium of local and international banks, it said on Friday, an important step as it tries to close a funding gap before the end of March.

Eskom is vital to the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy as it supplies more than 90% of its power, but it is drowning in around R420 billion of debt after a decade of steep financial decline.

“The government-guaranteed facility will form part of the financing of Eskom’s current capital expenditure programme,” Eskom said in a statement.