Eskom relaxes demands for Zesa Holdings to pay for power imports in advance

South African power utility, Eskom has relaxed its position regarding earlier demands for Zesa Holdings to pay for power imports in advance.

Eskom demanded that Zesa pays for power imports ahead of supply after the local power utility struggled to settle bills for the electricity supplies from South Africa. Zesa was paying upfront an average of $6,5 million per month to Eskom and broke the monthly bill into weekly instalments due to cash constraints.

The Herald Business reports that Zesa is now making weekly payments of about $1,7 million whenever it has the finances to prepay for the imports. Zesa also imports power from regional utilities including Hydro Cahorra Bassa and Lusemfwa of Zambia to cover local supply gaps due to limited capacity.