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The City of Johannesburg and City Power will be forced to make do without electricity at certain times of the day due to its unpaid debt to Eskom.
Eskom said the CoJ currently owes Eskom R4.9 billion, plus an additional R1.4 billion due by the end of November 2024.
Eskom said despite its efforts to accommodate the CoJ, it can no longer afford to accommodate the entity without harming its own business. As of September 2024, unpaid municipal bills to Eskom total R90 billion, largely impacting Eskom’s operating costs.
"When entities like the CoJ fail to pay timeously or at all, it forces us to borrow additional money at premiums to fund operational costs. Operational costs should be funded by revenue generated from electricity sales and not by borrowings.
"Borrowing money to fund operational cash shortfalls caused by the failure of municipalities such as the CoJ to pay for bulk electricity increases the costs of providing electricity exponentially," said Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena.
Though the CoJ acknowledges its debt, it claims Eskom overbills for certain supply points, which it says justifies withholding full payment.
Eskom stated that CoJ management and City Power entered into an agreement to make payments while investigations continue into allegations of overbilling, but this agreement has been reneged on.
Mokwena said on Friday, Eskom will issue a public notice inviting all interested and affected parties to submit written representations, comments, and/or submissions indicating why Eskom should or should not proceed to interrupt electricity supply to the points mentioned in the Provision of Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) notice.
"A final decision on whether Eskom will proceed with the interruption will be communicated after review of the representations received through the PAJA process on December 12," Mokwena said.
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