Eskom is going after 14 Municipalities, who owe millions to the power utility.
Eskom is owed R110 billion.
In a statement on Friday, the power utility said “ we have exhausted all reasonable avenues through the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, including issuing notices in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), providing affected parties an opportunity to make representations before further action is considered.”
Eskom also divulged the 14 Municipalities have not paid anything in the last 18 months.
Agnes Mlambo, Acting Group Executive Distribution, said “we have to address rising arrear debt to protect the operational stability we have restored and the financial discipline we have rebuilt in the first three years of our turnaround to deliver on our developmental mandate. Through the turnaround, we are enabling business to protect and create jobs and supporting strategic industries to remain competitive, that in turn enable communities to thrive.”
Eskom also said it is aware some of these Municipalities collect revenue from customers for electricity services, and failure to remit these funds, undermines its financial viability, while impacting the delivery of electricity to the relevant communities.
With the PAJA process a strong consideration, the next step, is to proceed with credit control measures, which may include interrupting electricity supply at predetermined times.
If defaults persist, Eskom said it would proceed to limit supply to levels commensurate with payments received.