WATCH: City Power to pay Eskom R3.2b settlement
The Minister confirmed the SANEDI report will be made public.
Provided an update during a briefing on June 24 at the Hugh Masekela Boardroom in the Johannesburg Theatre.
City Power and Eskom reached the R3.2b settlement after both parties avoided a protracted court case regarding electricity billing and debt dispute resolution. The settlement amount will be paid over four years.
The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and the executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, provided an update during a briefing on June 24 at the Hugh Masekela Boardroom in the Johannesburg Theatre.
@southern.courierCity Power and Eskom reached the R3.2b settlement after both parties avoided a protracted court case regarding electricity billing and debt dispute resolution. The settlement amount will be paid over four years. Read full story on southerncourier.co.za♬ original sound – Southern Courier
This agreement follows a notice issued by Eskom in November 2024, threatening to cut the power supply to Johannesburg.
In November, the minister and the mayor led a high-level engagement to mediate among all parties, which initiated a collectively agreed-upon technical intervention by the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) to investigate and assess discrepancies in the dispute.
Ramokgopa was pleased that the dispute, dating back as far as 10 years, was finally resolved. He said they needed a technically competent and neutral party to help them resolve the conflict.
“SANEDI could discharge and carry out that responsibility with the utmost distinction.
@southern.courierIn November, the minister and the mayor led a high-level engagement to mediate among all parties, which initiated a collectively agreed-upon technical intervention by the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) to investigate and assess discrepancies in the dispute. Ramokgopa was pleased that the dispute, dating back as far as 10 years, was finally resolved. He said they needed a technically competent and neutral party to help them resolve the conflict. Read full story on southerncourier.co.za♬ original sound – Southern Courier
“We are going to make the SANEDI report public and have committed, together with the mayor, to satisfying our constitutional responsibilities of ensuring that we surface all the facts and share all the information so that those who want to familiarise themselves with the technical aspects of what we found can do so,” he said.
He said that when they began the process in November, they anticipated it would take three weeks. However, several months later, the report has only now been released.
“SANEDI’s investigation was somewhat narrow, focusing solely on the issues before us – namely billing and metering. That exercise was completed, but during the process, the parties felt the need to mine more raw data to ensure proper reconciliation. You can imagine the volume of data, which is why we needed the extension,” he said.
The minister noted that they had learned the value of intergovernmental relations. He emphasised that the courts should be a last resort and should not be burdened with matters that can be resolved between the parties.
He added that another key lesson came from the scale of the exercise at City Power in Johannesburg, noting that no other municipality or city in the country is larger than Johannesburg.
“If you can resolve the challenges with City Power, you should be able to resolve challenges across the country.”
He noted that while the challenges may not be identical, their complexity and magnitude are significant, and there is now almost a template for how to address similar disputes in the future.
@southern.courierThe minister noted that they had learned the value of intergovernmental relations. He emphasised that the courts should be a last resort and should not be burdened with matters that can be resolved between the parties. He added that another key lesson came from the scale of the exercise at City Power in Johannesburg, noting that no other municipality or city in the country is larger than Johannesburg. Read full story on southerncourier.co.za
“We also learned that leadership is key. Mature heads and cool minds entered this conversation with the sole intention of resolving the dispute.
“We confirmed the issues related to the impact of load-shedding. When metering was absent, we relied on estimates that were not accurate. One lesson learned for the future is to ensure that bulk metering is in place—and that during load-shedding, it must register zero, as there is no bulk supply of electricity,” he said.
Morero thanked the minister for his effort and the work that was done.
“We are happy with the settlement, as outlined. Now it is a matter of implementing the agreement reached. Thank you to the teams who worked so hard to arrive at this settlement,” he said.
Other stakeholders present included City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava, acting city manager Tshepo Makola, Eskom group executive Monde Bala, SANEDI CEO Dr Titus Mathe, and chairperson of the board Sicelo Xulu.
