Prasa has paid up its current debt owed to Eskom – Mbalula

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) had paid its debt owed to power utility Eskom after chaos ensued for commuters when the utility cut off the power.

Eskom cut electricity supply to the service in the Western Cape, which affected four of Prasa’s supply line stations.

“Prasa will make the a formal announcement on the resumption of the services across the province,” Mbalula said in a statement on Thursday.

Mbalula said power was being restored on the Metrorail lines at sub-stations including Khayelitsha, Eesterivier, Strand and Tafelbaai.

Trains were not able to operate without traction power supply yesterday afternoon due to the power cut and the suspension of the entire Western Cape rail service.

It was reported that the suspension of commuter rail services in the Western Cape affected 289,000 commuters.

“Eskom had cited overdue payment of 34 days of their Western Cape electricity account of R4 million. This was despite the fact that other regions have not been subjected to a similar treatment.

“Of equal concern was the fact that Eskom had declared Metrorail a priority user at the start of load shedding, and cuts of traction power was unprecedented.

“The action to implement the power cut represented the deepening of the crisis facing Prasa. It was a matter of public record that Prasa was experiencing a cash flow crisis as a result of a depleted operational budget while a significant amount in excess of R18 billion remains tied in the capital budget,” the minister said.

Eskom’s spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, said the utility received a proof of payment, which brought Prasa’s account to current.

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