S. African power supplier denies being captured by Gupta family

South Africa's state-run electricity utility Eskom on Friday denied allegations that it has been "captured" by the Indian Gupta family.

Eskom, which supplies more than 95 percent of electricity consumed in South Africa, has been implicated in the "state capture" report compiled by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.

The report, released on Wednesday, sheds light on how the wealthy Gupta family may have influenced appointment of cabinet ministers and several board directors at state-owned enterprises, including Eskom, weapon manufacturer Denel, South Africa Aiways (SAA) and transport giant Transnet.

In response, Eskom Chairman Baldwin Ngubane said Eskom board members and executives cited in the report were not given an opportunity to clear their names before the report was published.

Ngubane said the Eskom Board welcomed the release of the report and the suggestion that a commission of inquiry be established to investigate all the issues using the report as a starting point.

Eskom has been suspected of favoring Gupta-owned companies like the Tegeta Exploration and Resources in the supply of coal.

The South African Sunday Times alleged that Tegeta benefited from official connections in the awarding of a 4-billion-rand (296-million-U.S.-dollar) contract to supply coal to Eskom.

But the utility said it regularly engaged all its coal suppliers on the required volumes and qualities as the demand varies from time to time, and that contracting relationships were concluded on sound commercial principles and considerations.

The Guptas' alleged influence over appointments to the South African cabinet and state-owned enterprises drew attentions earlier this year when former African National Congress MP Vytjie Mentor claimed that in 2010, the Guptas had offered her the position of Minister of Public Enterprises in exchange for business favor, which she later rejected. Endit