Eskom published a public notice on 6 March to inform residents of Ekurhuleni, a major industrial hub and home to OR Tambo International Airport, that it may cut electricity supply on 14 April due to R3.4 billion in outstanding debt.
The utility is inviting public comment, which, according to Eskom Gauteng distribution spokesperson Amanda Qithi, will inform where essential services are situated that may be excluded from disconnection.
Eskom national spokesperson Daphne Mokwena confirmed that OR Tambo International Airport receives its electricity supply from the metro. Still, Moneyweb was unable to immediately determine whether its supply point is among those at risk.
Ekurhuleni is one of 14 municipalities that “have not settled their accounts for at least the last 18 months, have not met the conditions of the National Treasury municipal debt relief programme, or pose a significant financial risk to Eskom,” according to a press release issued the day before.
Moneyweb has asked Eskom for the names of the other 13 and will publish them as soon as they are received.
Eskom says in its notice regarding Ekurhuleni that it has been engaged in a dispute-resolution process with the metro since 2023. The dispute revolved around Ekurhuleni’s failure to pay for its bulk purchases and the metro’s disputing of the interest Eskom charged on late payments. The utility says it was prepared to review the interest as soon as Ekurhuleni resumed payments.
The metro submitted several payment plans but failed to stick to any, according to Eskom, and the dispute-resolution process therefore failed.
Eskom says the only option available to it is “reduction, disconnection and/or termination of the supply, unless Eskom converts the Ekurhuleni account to prepaid, and supplies only what the metro can pay for, or if it reaches an agreement with Ekurhuleni for customers to pay Eskom directly” for the electricity they consume on the Eskom tariff.
It must be noted that the Eskom tariff is considerably lower than that of Ekurhuleni.
The closing date for comments is 6 April, and a final decision will be taken on 14 April, Eskom says.
The supply points at risk are:
Submissions can be made to the key customer relations manager, Moipone Mphethi, at COE.Submissions@eskom.co.za.
