Ekurhuleni refutes alleged Eskom debt
“The EMM has a healthy financial position and reiterates that all Eskom bills are paid on time and in full,” said Mr Gabdebe.
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) refuted allegations that the Municipality is in debt with Eskom
The EMM issued a statement regarding the matter on Wednesday, August 13.
The statement was issued after the EMM noted several allegations claiming that the EMM owed Eskom nearly R1-billion.
“We wish to state on record that the EMM owes no money to Eskom. Every single bill received from Eskom, totaling R7-billion in the 2013/2014 financial year ending 30 June 2014, was paid in time,” said the EMM’s spokesperson, Mr Themba Gadebe.
“The EMM has a healthy financial position and reiterates that all Eskom bills are paid on time and in full,” said Mr Gabdebe.
In response to the EMM, Eskom clarified the recent reports regarding municipality debt by providing an aggregated analysis of the current status of bulk municipal electricity accounts.
According to a statement from Eskom, in the normal course of business municipalities have a set number of days in terms of their contracts to pay the accounts issued by Eskom. If a municipality does not pay Eskom within the required number of days, then the amount payable is then referred to as arrears debt.
The statement revealed that presently, municipalities owe Eskom R11.5-billion, of which R8.75-billion is current and R2.75-billion is in arrears.
The R8.75-billion owing is therefore in the normal course of business and is not of concern, assuming it is paid on time.
Eskom said it takes the non-payment of these arrears accounts seriously.
Eskom also continues to address the issue through the Department of Public Enterprises working with the National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance to find a sustainable solution to the issue of municipal debt.
