Nokukhanya Mntambo8 November 2024 | 4:05

Eskom serves CoJ, City Power notice of power interruption over unpaid debt

Eskom said the city's electricity debt has mounted to almost R5 billion.

Eskom serves CoJ, City Power notice of power interruption over unpaid debt

Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: © Magdalena Paluchowska/123rf.com

JOHANNESBURG - Some residents and businesses in Joburg could be left in the dark again if the city fails to settle its Eskom debt. 

The latest threat comes after the power utility served notice of power interruption against the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and City Power on Thursday. 

Eskom said the city's electricity debt has mounted to almost R5 billion.

This excludes the current account of an additional R1.4 billion due at the end of the month. 

READ: City of Joburg hits back at Eskom in spat over R1 billion debt

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the municipality had repeatedly reneged on its obligation. 

"Despite all the avenues that Eskom explored and efforts to accommodate the CoJ, the matter has reached a point where Eskom can simply no longer afford to accommodate the CoJ without putting further financial strain on and harming its own business," Mokwena said.

Mokwena said Joburg's failure to pay was contributing to the growing municipal debt that stands at R90 billion.

"Eskom today [Thursday] served a notice of intention to interrupt power supply to the City of Johannesburg and City Power at certain pre-determined times of day in accordance with the provision of Promotion of Administrative Justice Act," said Mokwena.

If it goes ahead, Eskom said there would be scheduled power cuts at certain pre-determined times. 

"The CoJ has acknowledged its indebtedness to Eskom, but it refuses to pay the full amount of its monthly bill. The CoJ alleged, without substantiating their claim, that Eskom is overbilling it on some of its supply points.

"It is for this reason that the CoJ is applying set-off against the monthly bills raised by Eskom, which is contrary to the electricity supply agreement and the agreements reached with its Chief Financial Officer, Rendani Sadiki, and the Chief Executive Officer of City Power, Tshifularo Mashava, and City of Johannesburg management. In more than one meeting, it was agreed that the CoJ would continue to pay whilst the alleged overbilling is investigated; this undertaking has been reneged on," Mokwena added.

It's unclear if this would apply to the whole city or limited to certain areas.

Eskom has set itself a tight deadline to decide on the move. 

"For the reasons mentioned above, on 8 November 2024, Eskom will be issuing 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 PAJA notice.

"A final decision on whether Eskom will proceed with the interruption will be communicated after a review of the representations received through the PAJA process on 12 December 2024," Mokwena said.