Lights out for Ekurhuleni

Power utility Eskom has issued a public notice warning the City of Ekurhuleni about extended power cuts due to unpaid electricity bills.

The power utility published the notice in Saturday papers, with the Democratic Alliance circulating it more widely.

According to the notice, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality currently owes Eskom over R2.3 billion, excluding its current account of a further R1.5 billion, which will become due on 7 March 2025.

Eskom said that it has tried all avenues to accommodate the city, but it has now reached the point where it can no longer do so without suffering further financial strain and harming its own business.

“Eskom cannot operate and remain financially viable without timeous payment from the City of Ekurhuleni,” it said.

The utility said that when cities and municipalities fail to pay on time – or do not pay at all – it forces the group to borrow money at considerable premiums.

It added that its operations should be funded by electricity sales, not borrowing to cover municipal shortfalls. Eskom is currently sitting with R90 billion in debt owed to by municipalities.

Given the city’s failure to pay up, Eskom has now warned all residents of the City of Ekurhuleni that it will start disrupting electricity supply in specific areas within the municipality starting 27 March 2025.

City responds

Responding to the public notice, the City of Ekurhuleni said that its power would not be disconnected.

It said that Eskom had not given the municipality formal notice of any disconnections and insisted it has been in communication with the power utility over its bills since the start of the year.

“Although we have established effective communication channels with Eskom, they were not utilised in this instance.

“The city will initiate contact with Eskom to resolve this matter and ensure that residents continue to receive uninterrupted essential services.”

The city said that it is actively servicing its current electricity bill and will “work expeditiously” to pay off the disputed portion that will soon be due.

It urged residents to keep their eyes on city communication channels for updates.

BusinessTech asked Eskom for comment on whether the matter is being addressed or if the notice still stands. Its response will be added once it is received.

Ekurhuleni is far from the first major metro to face Eskom’s threats of being cut off. The utility has taken the City of Tshwane to court multiple times over its unpaid bills, and it threatened to cut off the City of Joburg in 2024 over the same.

Both metros are among the worst offenders when it comes to non-payment to Eskom – with Ekurhuleni seemingly heading in the same direction.

Municipal debt is a veritable crisis for Eskom. The group has repeatedly warned that if the issue is not resolved, it will put its financial stability at risk and reverse any good done by the National Treasury’s R250 billion debt transfer.

It will also lead to higher electricity prices, as the group has no option but to cover the shortfall through the customers who do pay.

Presenting its results for the 2024 financial year late last year, Eskom reported a surge in municipal debt in the year to R74.4 billion, up 27% from the R58.2 billion in FY2023.

However, because the group’s financial results were nine months late, the reported figures were not accurate. From March 2024 to November 2024, municipal debt surged once again, this time by 28% to R95.4 billion.

The group warned that if nothing is done soon, the debt will continue to skyrocket, with projections reaching as high as R110 billion by March 2025.