JOHANNESBURG - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has warned that Eskom’s planned unbundling could weaken the power utility and create greater opportunities for private-sector involvement.
This comes as government moves closer to separating Eskom’s transmission business into a standalone state-owned entity.
Numsa says the transmission business is too valuable to be separated from Eskom, estimating that it generated almost R100-billion in revenue and about R27-billion in profit last year.
The union says Eskom’s assets should remain under public ownership and has vowed to use legal action and mass mobilisation to oppose any transfer.
Numsa also points to Eskom’s recent return to profitability and more than a year without load shedding as evidence that the utility’s current leadership should be supported rather than having its assets restructured.
The union’s position comes amid growing debate over the financial implications of Eskom’s unbundling.
Eskom chair Mteto Nyati recently warned that moving assets too quickly, or in a way that weakened Eskom’s financial position, could rattle investors.
The Presidency subsequently criticised Nyati, saying it was unfortunate that his comments created the impression that a process was underway in which Eskom was not integrally involved.
Nyati has since shrugged off the rebuke, saying the priority should be cooperation between all parties involved in Eskom’s restructuring.
“They've rebuked it, I'm okay with that. The key point here is that the President has created a structure that is helping all of us to be able to work together. And that is what is the most important part for me,” Nyati said.
“We have to save our country. We have to make sure that we never go back to the situation that we found ourselves in the past.”
Government announced several years ago that Eskom would be restructured into three separate entities covering generation, transmission and distribution.
The unbundling of the transmission business is expected to take place soon, with Numsa warning that separating the entity from Eskom could ultimately undermine the utility’s financial position.