Top court orders Eskom to disclose secret coal and diesel contracts

South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled on 23 March 2026 that Eskom must disclose its coal and diesel supply contracts, dismissing the utility's appeal against an earlier High Court order. The case was brought by lobby group AfriForum, which had sought access to agreements covering the roughly R70bn Eskom spends every year on coal and its transport.

What the court found

The SCA rejected Eskom's argument that the contracts were too commercially sensitive to release, finding the utility had not provided sufficiently concrete evidence that disclosure would damage its future bargaining position or invite collusion among suppliers in later tenders. The judges set out a clear default principle for public bodies: openness is mandatory unless specific, factual justification for secrecy can be shown, rather than a general claim of commercial harm.

The ruling does leave room for some documents to remain confidential where Eskom can demonstrate a genuine case for it, but the effect is to open the bulk of its coal-supply book, including pricing and volume terms with individual mining companies, to public scrutiny for the first time.

Why the fight matters

Eskom's coal contracts have long been a flashpoint for South Africans concerned about the utility's finances and the quality of coal it receives; coal quality disputes with suppliers have previously been linked to breakdowns at its power stations. Campaigners argue that transparency will make it easier to test whether prices paid to mining companies are market-related, and whether Eskom's procurement has been used to benefit politically connected suppliers.

What happens next

AfriForum said it had assembled a team to examine the contracts once released, to assess whether they are market-related and were legally concluded. Eskom said it was studying the judgment. The disclosure, once it occurs, is likely to give outside analysts their first detailed look at the pricing structures underpinning South Africa's biggest coal off-take arrangements, potentially reshaping how future tenders are negotiated and scrutinised.

Sources

• The Conversation: South African court orders Eskom to disclose R70 billion coal and diesel contracts – why the ruling matters, 23 Mar 2026
• Business Day: SA's R1-trillion procurement contracts in transparency test, 24 Mar 2026

Photo: A Transnet coal train at Eskom's Kendal power station in Mpumalanga. Bob Adams from Amanzimtoti, South Africa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.