Arthur Greene
Eskom has threatened to pull the City of Tshwane power supply after it failed to pay its debt of R1.6 billion.
The power utility said in a statement on Tuesday that it hopes the threat of disconnecting the city will convince its government to pay its debt, which was due on 17 August.
Eskom claims the City has only paid R68 million so far, just over 4% of the total debt.
“The power utility had numerous engagements with the City of Tshwane’s management to ensure that the City paid its account. Nevertheless, these actions have not yielded any results as the City has continued with the same pattern,” the statement said.
The statement added that the non-payment is “untenable and unacceptable” because of Eskom’s dire financial situation, having an outstanding debt of R396 billion.
However, the City of Tshwane has said the reason it could not make the payment is because its council is also suffering from a cash flow problem.
“We do pay every month, we just pay late,” Member of the Mayoral Council for Finance Peter Sutton said in an interview, adding that “with us not having cash reserves, it is difficult.”
Sutton said the City was behind on its payments to Eskom by five days but did not have the cash reserves to meet those payments. Eskom, meanwhile, claims it may not be able to power the city without them.
Sutton said that City representatives are meeting with Eskom on Wednesday to work out a solution.
