Eskom acknowledges difficult trade-offs ahead as it pursues energy transition

State-owned utility Eskom is expecting to have to make “difficult trade-offs” in its pursuit of a just energy transition (JET) strategy, as it grapples with ongoing short-term operational struggles and budgetary shortfalls. Speaking at a South African National Energy Association webinar on December 7, which covered the South African perspective on emerging market trade-offs on the pathway to net zero, Eskom corporate strategy and planning senior manager Lizette Mabone said that, although Eskom was prioritising several generation, transmission and distribution interventions in the short to medium term to further the JET of its fleet, it needed to remain cognisant of its first priority of ensuring energy stability.