The national Treasury's plans to give Eskom a multibillion-rand cash injection were enough to stave off a ratings downgrade for the state-owned energy company. For now.
Credit ratings agency Fitch yesterday affirmed Eskom's long-term rating at BBB+, with a negative outlook, a week after Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene pledged R20-billion on top of the R350-billion in standing guarantees.
Nene said that the government would dispose of "non-strategic" assets to raise the R20-billion.
Without Treasury as backstop, Fitch would not have looked favourably on Eskom, which is still spending billions to finance the completion of both its Medupi and Kusile power stations.
"The cash flows from operating activities and the standalone profile of Eskom continue to deteriorate and we do not expect notable improvement in financial year ending March 2015," the ratings agency said yesterday.
Fears that another agency, Standard & Poor's, would cut Eskom's bonds to junk status prompted the latest round of interventions.
Eskom itself also scrambled to get energy regulator Nersa to bump up the tariffs it can charge consumers from April next year. Its management said that it would struggle to make ends meet with the 8% annual increase Nersa granted it early last year - it had applied for 16%.
Fitch said Nersa's nod for Eskom to recoup some losses by increasing prices in the interim will help.
"We expect tariff increases of around 13% to continue and to allow for some improvement in Eskom's credit metrics from [the next financial year]," said Fitch.
Nene has given no details on the planned asset sales.
But Fitch warned that a decline in government support, or a downgrade of South Africa's sovereign rating, could affect Eskom.
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