Cape Town — Minister of Electricity, Kgotsientsho Ramokgopa has intervened to help the current clash between Eskom and the City of Johannesburg regarding the billion rand debt.
Last week, Eskom threatened to cut the electricity supply in Johannesburg if it failed to make its payments in full. Eskom said it owed more than R6 billion in outstanding payments. While Eskom said the City acknowledged the debts, it had refused to pay the total monthly bill.
During a media briefing, Ramokgopa confirmed that the issues between City Power and Eskom have now been resolved as City Power has agreed to pay the outstanding debts, Newzroom Afrika reported.
“We have agreed that City Power will pay the current account. That is the point of decoupling. We are decoupling the agreement, we are decoupling the query from what has been submitted,” he said.
He said the agreement to pay the current account means Eskom will withdraw its notice to interrupt the electricity supply.
“What the notice was seeking to do was to ensure that we get to that point was that we pay the current account as we resolve the issues that have been placed before Eskom by City Power,” he concluded.
[WATCH] Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says City Power has committed to paying the current account, leading to the withdrawal of Eskom’s notice to interrupt the power supply. The dispute over Eskom’s billing accuracy remains, but Ramokgopa is confident that a resolution will be… pic.twitter.com/VikApbjNkk
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) November 11, 2024
According to News24, Ramokgopa explained why he got involved in the dispute and said City Power has been complaining about their billing as the parties (Eskom and City Power) were unable to agree.
He said the parties had agreed that a new process would not begin until an independent person can evaluate what Eskom is asking for vs what the City believes it owes.
“The independent technician will be accompanied by a technician from each entity. The City has 14 days (until 25 November) to confirm what it owes,” he said.
He added that the R1.4 billion settlement would settle the dispute between the two parties and there is an agreement to use all platforms to communicate with residents and businesses. Ramokgopa said the failure to pay Eskom was not endemic to Johannesburg but the situation across municipalities.
He said that in July, Eskom was owed R78 billion. Municipal debt has now risen to R90 billion.
“The trend is on the up with an increase in debt by R3 billion a month,” he said.
He added that the non-payment created challenges at Eskom so that the entity would eventually fail to meet its obligations.
Ramokgopa said Eskom had gone to the public before exhausting all other measures to extract payment from the City, and added that the matter should not have gone to court.
[WATCH] Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa meets Joburg Mayor Dada Morero and City Power executives to discuss the looming power supply threats over the city’s outstanding debt to Eskom. The power utility is owed a total of R90 billion by defaulting… pic.twitter.com/wFI4rUcBXz
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) November 11, 2024
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@GovernmentZA
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
