Pretoria - Residents in the capital city might be in for a shock as Eskom has indicated that it will forge ahead and disconnect power supply to the metro following empty promises to settle its outstanding R1.6 billion debt.
The power utility’s latest stance came after it rejected the proposed payment arrangement by Tshwane.
Eskom reiterated that it was still considering disconnecting the municipality to secure the R1.6bn it was owed. In a media statement, the entity said Tshwane had to date paid R448 million after failing to settle its electricity account, which was payable on August 17.
“Eskom billed the City R1.6bn for the month of July 2022, which the municipality has failed to pay in full, therefore breaching the Electricity Supply Agreement it holds with Eskom,” the parastatal said.
Eskom said the meeting with the municipality’s management on August 24 and 30 to further appeal to the City to settle the outstanding payment failed to yield positive results.
“The City proposed to settle the outstanding payment after 76 days, which is not in line with the contract it has with Eskom nor the Municipal Finance Management Act. Eskom rejected this proposal as unacceptable given its current financial position.” it said It further said the municipality assured the power utility that it would pay the outstanding R1.2bn, but it only made a payment of R80m.
“These erratic payments place a huge challenge on Eskom to continue supplying the City with electricity.”
Eskom said it would proceed with the process of disconnecting the City and act in line with the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act.
“We have also stopped all projects in the pipeline and will invoke security guarantees.”
Last week the power utility said disconnecting the metro was “one of the necessary steps to secure the outstanding payment”.
“The City of Tshwane is in breach of the Electricity Supply Agreement which it holds with Eskom by failing to pay the R1.6bn which was due and payable on August 17, 2022. The City only paid R68m to date, which did little to dent the massive outstanding balance on its electricity account.”
Tshwane MMC for Finance Peter Sutton previously said the municipality intended to service its unsettled amount of R1.6bn.
“Our finance team has consistently been engaging Eskom on a payment plan. We understand our responsibility to service our account,” he said.
At the time, Sutton said the amount owed was only four days in arrears and that the outstanding amount only related to July, and all earlier debt was paid.
“Our entire value system is not aligned. Eskom payment date is in 15 days (August 15). Tshwane invoices for July are payable around August 21. On average residents pay the City in a 60-day cycle for services consumed, while Eskom expects payment in 15 days and the City has zero cash reserves to bridge the gap with payment from our coffers, and therefore this results in the current situation,” he said.
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