(Bloomberg) -- Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said on Tuesday that it has received 16 billion rand ($852 million) of a 254 billion rand debt-relief package from the South African government.

The transaction, which was earlier reported by Reuters, was confirmed by company spokeswoman Daphne Mokwena.

Reuters, citing acting Chief Executive Officer Calib Cassim, said the utility received the first drawdown at the end of July and will use the funds to help meet its debts on maturity, with the next tranche expected in October.

The package was announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in February. It is aimed at strengthening Eskom’s balance sheet to free up money for the utility to undertake plant maintenance, and improve the transmission and distribution infrastructure as the country battles record electricity outages. 

Read More: Eskom’s $13.9 Billion Debt Plan Opens Up Power Provision 

Eskom’s debt burden stood at 423 billion rand in February.

As part of the plan, the government was due to provide Eskom with three annual advances totaling 184 billion rand through March 2026 to repay maturing debt and cover interest costs, Treasury said in February. 

The funding would be converted to equity if Eskom met its performance criteria including bringing in private partners to help operate its plants and the electricity transmission network. The bulk of the transfers were to be financed through additional borrowing, the Treasury said.

(Updates with Eskom confirmation payment was made)

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