Concerns about a city-wide electricity shutdown have been causing quite a stir among home and business owners over the past two weeks. It all started when Eskom published a public notice stating that, if Mogale City didn’t pay arrears amounting to R119 623 731,81, electricity supply interruptions could follow, which could also lead to a complete power shutdown. Since then, it was announced that the Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) had made a payment of R27 million toward this debt around the time the notice was published.
Read the initial article here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/399920/mogale-is-addressing-eskom-debt-to-prevent-disruptions/
Local DA Caucus Leader, Jacques Hoon spoke about a second payment, saying, “The Municipal Manager has assured the DA that R32 million was paid on 17 January. Proof of payment will be afforded at the next finance portfolio meeting via the municipality’s creditors age analysis.”
This leaves the MCLM in arrears of just over R60 million, meaning that a city-wide shutdown is highly unlikely.
But, the municipality and residents are not home free yet. Electricity consumption in Mogale City amounts to an average of between R60 million and R80 million per month, and MCLM will be back to an outstanding amount of about R120 million by the end of January.
“At this point, it’s like shooting at a moving target,” Jacques said. Although the municipality is likely to accrue considerable debt with Eskom in the foreseeable future, a shutdown is unlikely.
He added, “Indeed, the Municipal Manager assured the DA that the Eskom account will be managed accordingly to avoid any terminations or reductions of electricity. MCLM also has long-term loans in excess of R300 million as well as an overdraft facility of R100 million.”
It should be noted that this is not a first in the country. In fact, it’s quite common for municipalities across South Africa to be in this kind of debt with Eskom, in many cases much worse. Still, the lights are on, for the most part.
The News has been waiting for a response from MCLM for over a week, and will publish it when it is received.
