Johannesburg hits back at Eskom with its own demands for overbilling

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has hit Eskom with a reverse Uno card by demanding R3,4 billion in overcharges from it.

This after Eskom said on Monday it would take City Power to court over a R1.073 billion debt. It added the debt owed had reached “unprecedented levels, exacerbating Eskom’s already strained financial situation”.

The city said it was taken aback by Eskom’s decision to drag the courts into the matter when the national power owed R3,4 billion in overcharges over the years.

In a statement on Tuesday, the city said the financial responsibilities of Eskom to the city and City Power to Eskom had to be handled equally and equitably.

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“Following multiple discussions regarding queries that have been lodged in connection with gross inaccurate billing on bulk purchase invoices, Eskom has opted to ignore those issues and rushed to the courts.”

City says it pays Eskom over R1bn monthly

It said it pays Eskom over R1 billion for electricity monthly, despite Eskom claiming City Power started to default on its payments in October 2023. It said no payment was received for the March 2024 invoice.

“The city remains committed to paying for services rendered and validated as due, as it always has,” CoJ said.

According to the municipality, it has on various occasions raised concerns with the national energy supplier that it is being overbilled for the service received each month since 2021.

It said City Power was able to determine and measure the amount of overbilling by Eskom because of its own check-metering infrastructure and metering equipment.

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“More often than not, the national utility chooses to ignore these discrepancies that are brought to their attention. Eskom has admitted in some cases that there have been potential billing inaccuracies and has so far refunded City Power at least R483 million over the recent years,” the city said.

Much more is still due

The city further claimed that in their assessments, there is much more that is still due to it, and two weeks ago proposed that it bring in an independent electricity expert to give them comfort. They claim Eskom was reluctant.

“The city has always been committed to engaging with Eskom with the expectation to find an amicable resolution which will benefit our residents in the City of Johannesburg and the country at large; hence, the dispute resolution needs to be expedited,” CoJ said.

It confirmed that it will be opposing Eskom’s court application, set for 4 June, because it has “no basis in facts and law.”