JOHANNESBURG, July 2 (Reuters) - South Africa's utility Eskom said on Thursday it would auction up to 350 million rand ($44.94 million) worth of its ES18 bond on July 8.

The utility said the minimum bids allowed would be 1 million rand and the bidding methodology would be on a spread basis to the government's 2018 bond.

The Treasury said in its 2009 budget in February it would offer Eskom loan guarantees of 175.97 billion rand over 5 years to help it raise funds to boost capacity as it struggles to meet power demand in Africa's biggest economy.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com) ($1=7.788 Rand) Keywords: ESKOM BONDS/

(agnieszka.flak@reuters.com; +27 11 775 3154; Reuters Messaging: agnieszka.flak.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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