Ratepayers were up in arms this week after Eskom placed advertisements in last week’s Herald that it planned to cut the electricity supply to Carletonville and Fochville as the municipality was not honouring its account.
According to Eskom, Merafong owes it R97,129,694.72 for the bulk supply of electricity to the two towns. If the municipality does not make alternative arrangements, it will start cutting the electricity to Fochville between 06:00 to 09:00 from 12 to 18 March, from 17:00 to 20:30 on weekdays and from 08:30 to 12:00 and again from 15:00 to 19:00 on weekends.
Eskom has also threatened to cut Carletonville’s electricity supply for the same hours from 19 March. If the municipality still does not respond, the electricity to the two towns will be suspended for even longer.
In a press release a day later, Merafong said that, while Eskom’s financial challenges cannot be attributed to municipalities alone, it recognises its responsibility to pay the Eskom bulk account and recover the cost of distribution from its customers.
The municipality has had intensive engagements with Eskom for a while, specifically over the last six months. The municipality added, however, that the termination of the electricity supply to paying communities and businesses would be a futile exercise with no prospects of Eskom recovering any money. This would result in the total collapse of vulnerable municipalities and, ultimately, Eskom. The Herald contacted Eskom’s national spokesperson, Ms Dikatso Mothae, about the matter. “Eskom has not entered into a payment arrangement with Merafong Local Municipality. At this stage, we are engaging with the municipality in the hope that it settles its debt. While the debt has still not been paid, Eskom is analysing public presentations, submissions and comments on why it should or should not proceed with the contemplated interruption or disconnection, whatever the case may be,” she said on Tuesday afternoon.