The Public Enterprises Ministry has been unavailable to confirm if the minister spoke to Godsell but would only say that talks are continuing and the department will communicate the outcome in due course.

The Democratic Alliance said Godsell's return to Eskom would bring stability to the parastatal.

"We know that we are in a crisis with Eskom; we are in a crisis with the high tariff increases that Eskom requested and I believe that the whole situation over the last weeks did damage to the image of Eskom," said the DA's Cobus Schmidt.

Meanwhile, African National Congress Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said the ANC and its alliance partners supported efforts to have Eskom's proposed tariff increases minimised.

Eskom has applied for 45 percent tariff increases over the next three years so it can fund its initiatives and maintain power supply, but Mantashe said the alliance was not comfortable with such high hikes, as it would negatively affect the economy and jobs.

"That level of increase in tariff for electricity may not be afforded by the economy itself, the implication of that will further complicate the space where the poor and the working people are located," said Mantashe.

Eyewitness News

Incorrigible bastards The Point sifts through brain farts and blue lights to find they're all incorrigible bastards.

Summing up Selebi's trial Getting lost in the Selebi trial? Read our nifty little summary of the first four weeks...

Visit our politics page Need the latest political news, features, interviews and profiles? Visit our dedicated page...