The 'BBB' rating on South African power utility ESKOM Holdings SOC Ltd. (ESKOM) reflects Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' opinion that there is an "extremely high" likelihood that the Republic of South Africa (foreign currency BBB/Negative/A-2; local currency A-/Negative/A-2) would provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to ESKOM in the event of financial distress. We assess the stand-alone credit profile (SACP) of ESKOM as 'b'. In accordance with our criteria for government-related entities (GREs), our view of an "extremely high" likelihood of extraordinary government support is based on our assessment of ESKOM's: "Very important" role as the dominant electricity provider in South Africa; and "Integral" link to the South African government, reflecting its full ownership of ESKOM and the explicit
