Lights of several defaulting municipalities stay on for now
Last year Eskom announced plans to interrupt bulk electricity supply to the top 20 defaulting municipalities across the country.
MBOMBELA – On Sunday Eskom reached an agreement with seven municipalities in Mpumalanga which owe millions in unpaid services.
The power utility said it agreed in principle with three municipalities, Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, Chief Albert Luthuli and Mkhondo. It will also suspend electricity disconnections to another four municipalities in the province.
“We will continue to engage the remaining four municipalities namely, Goven Mbeki, Lekwa, eMakhazeni and Nkomazi and we are confident that the parties will reach reasonable repayment agreements. However, should the agreements not be concluded within the week, we will continue with the disconnection process,” said Eskom.
Mr Cyril Ripinga, spokesman for Nkomazi Local Municipality, said the municipality does not owe Eskom. “We do not owe it anything. The problem is with the Mzinti residents who receive electricity directly from Eskom. We are going to meet with relevant stakeholders to address the matter,” said Ripinga.
Last year Eskom announced plans to interrupt bulk electricity supply to the top 20 defaulting municipalities across the country. The utility was planning to implement power cuts of four hours in the morning and four in the evening.
In March the National Energy Regulator of South Africa approved Eskom’s application for a tariff hike of 9,4 per cent effective from April 1 for direct customers and on July 1 for municipalities.
Read: Mbombela settles Eskom account
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