Staff Reporter.
Eskom has declared a dispute with the Lesedi Local Municipality in the Sedibeng district of Gauteng after exhausting all avenues to recover what the municipality owes.
The local municipality’s current debt owed to Eskom is R125 million as at 30 June 2023. This is compounding debt from June 2022 when the municipality started to default on its payments.
“In January 2023, Lesedi submitted a payment proposal to Eskom to settle the arear debt, which Eskom accepted on condition that it would continue to service its monthly current account.
“However, the municipality defaulted on both the repayment and the current account by failing to settle the April 2023 invoice of R20 million that was payable on 29 May 2023, and only paid R7 million.
“The May 2023 invoice of R21 million, which was due on 29 June 2023, remains unpaid. Eskom has issued the June 2023 invoice of R38 million and that is payable on 27 July,” the power utility said.
Eskom has struggled to recover monies owed and regular payments from municipalities. Municipal debt for bulk electricity supply had ballooned to at least R56 billion by December 2022.
This, Eskom said, is hampering its ability to deliver on its mandate of supplying electricity to the country.
Eskom said failure to service debt by Lesedi Local Municipality and other defaulting municipalities burdens the power utility’s revenue streams, ultimately affecting service delivery. This further puts a strain on Eskom’s finances and its ability to operate effectively.
South African municipalities currently owe Eskom more than R57 billion.