{
  "id": 12557404,
  "title": "Eswatini Electricity Losses of US$15 Million Worry IMF",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/eswatini-electricity-losses-of-us-15-million-worry-imf",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-07T05:28:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Rio Times",
    "slug": "the-rio-times",
    "url": "https://www.riotimesonline.com/eswatini-electricity-losses-imf-taxpayers-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Eswatini's state-owned electricity company could become a financial burden on taxpayers in the small southern African nation. The warning is included in a Selected Issues report accompanying the IMF's 2026 review of Eswatini. The state-owned company, responsible for generating, transmitting, buying, and distributing electricity, imports close to 80% of its power from Eskom, South Africa's state utility, and Electricidade de Moçambique, Mozambique's state utility. The remaining power is produced domestically, with about half coming from hydropower. The Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) reported a net loss of around E250 million (US$15 million) in the 2024/25 fiscal year, following a period of profitability. The company's operating loss deepened in 2024/25 due to drought, which reduced hydropower production, and weaker sales as some large customers switched to generating their own electricity. In 2025/26, the EEC sought a tariff increase of approximately 25% for the next two years, but the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) granted a smaller two-step increase of 14.67% in 2025/26 and 10.91% in 2026/27. The government delayed the first increase by a year to protect households and businesses from higher living costs. The IMF has characterized this arrangement as a quasi-fiscal activity, meaning that the state company is performing a government policy without being fully compensated for it. The IMF warns that this situation could lead to a financing gap requiring public support, which would compete with other government expenditures such as wages and capital projects. The government's debt has risen from 40% of GDP in March 2025 to 44.7% in March 2026, and the IMF projects it could reach 50% of GDP by March 2027. Eswatini, an absolute monarchy with King Mswati III at the helm, relies on the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) for revenue, which remains volatile. The utility bailout could add to public debt, which is already heading toward 50% of GDP. The United States, being the IMF's largest shareholder, closely monitors Eswatini's financial situation, as its rescue could impact US trade and health-aid preferences.",
  "summary": "Eswatini's state power company has slid from years of profits into losses, and the IMF says the kingdom's taxpayers may have to pick up the bill. The post Eswatini Electricity Losses of US$15 Million Worry IMF appeared first on The Rio Times .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}