Brazil, Russia, India and China all form the Brics organisation along with South Africa, and the bank serves as a collective pot for all member states.
The Bank plans to lend as much as R11 billion to Eskom for infrastructure projects this year as the ailing power utility battles to keep power supply steady.
Eskom, which on Wednesday entered a seventh day of controlled power cuts, is contending with operational and financial challenges, threatening the productivity of Africa’s most-industrialized economy.
The government is considering various interventions to turn the company around, including a $4.8 billion bailout over three years and splitting the organization into three parts to help contain costs.
The NDB, back by the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is in talks with the government about loans that could alleviate some of the pressure on the country’s electricity grid, the lender’s president, K.V. Kamath, said by phone.
Earlier this month, South Africa‘s energy regulator, Nersa, granted Eskom average power price increases that were far below what the utility had asked for, saying it aimed to balance the interests of the company and the public.
Eskom was granted a 9.4% tariff hike for this year along with an increase of 8.1% for 2020 followed by 5.2% the following year.