City Power and Joburg have not paid debt to Eskom, Ramokgopa says [VIDEO]

After missing the deadline to pay their massive debt to Eskom, City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and City Power have requested an extension.

Earlier this month in a billing dispute involving billions of rands, Eskom served a notice of intention to interrupt the power supply to the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and City Power at certain predetermined times of the day.

Watch Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa saying City Power has yet to pay its debt to Eskom

Massive debt

Eskom said CoJ and/or City Power currently owe Eskom R4.9 billion, excluding a current account of an additional R1.4 billion, which will become due and payable at the end of November 2024.

After intervention from Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the City of Joburg agreed to pay R1.4 billion of its outstanding bill to Eskom by the end of November.

In a briefing on the Key Revision Number (KRN) prepaid meters programme on Wednesday morning, Ramokgopa said City Power has not yet paid its debt to Eskom in terms of the agreement.

“The last time I heard, and that was yesterday, they had not paid. I’ll share with you what the next steps are. The report will come, but we know that City Power also has tremendous challenges.

“It’s not a City Power problem, it’s not an Eskom problem, it’s a sector problem. But that sector problem now has evolved to become a sovereign problem. When I say it’s a sovereign problem, is that someone must bail these people out and that person to bail the people out is the fiscus, everyone will be shouting at [Finance] Minister [Enoch] Godongwana,” Ramokgopa said.

ALSO READ: Eskom ‘not to blame’ for Joburg’s electricity debt crisis – Outa

Extension granted

Ramokgopa Spokesperson Tsakane Khambane said the minister has granted City Power an extension until 06 December 2024 for the assessment and verification report regarding the debt dispute between Eskom and the regional power utility.

The original deadline for this report was set for 25 November 2024.

“The South African Energy Development Institute (Sanedi), appointed as the independent technical body to evaluate and validate the credibility of the bill levied by Eskom to City Power, has requested this extension to ensure a thorough and comprehensive assessment, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the process,” Khambane said

“This extension is part of the agreement reached between Eskom and City Power on 11 November 2024, following a high-level intervention by Minister Ramokgopa and the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, councillor Dada Morero.”

Prolonged dispute

Khambane said the intervention aims to resolve a prolonged dispute over the electricity bill, which has caused significant challenges for both organisations and has created uncertainty for the residents of Johannesburg and potential investors.

“In this context, both Eskom and City Power acknowledge that the reliable provision of electricity is essential to the country’s economic foundation.”

During his briefing, Ramokgopa also highlighted the grim issue of Eskom losing R2.5 billion per month due to people who are using electricity unlawfully.

Ramokgopa has urged illegal electricity users to become compliant before 13 December 2024.

ALSO READ: Pay up or we will cut your lights: Eskom warns Joburg over R6.3bn bill