TZANEEN – Blackout threats for the community of Tzaneen could be a thing of the past.

This is after Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM) and July Mathebula Attorneys, representing Lindor Ondernemings, owners of the 524 LT, District 9, the site where the Tarentaalrand substation is located, met last week.

Mathebula told the Herald on Tuesday that the two parties have met and have agreed on most of the issues, with only a single issue remaining to be resolved. He said the parties will be meeting again this week.

All of this follows a new court order in favour of Lindor Ondernemings on October 28 that gave Lindor Ondernemings the right to disconnect and dismantle the substation without providing public notice.

Although the substation is owned by GTM, the municipality does not have a formal lease agreement for the land.

This legal battle began on March 12, 2023, when the court ordered GTM to vacate the land by April 12, 2024, and to pay damages for unlawfully occupying the property. Despite several rounds of settlement discussions that at one point seemed promising, no final agreement was reached.

In September, the landowners announced plans to dismantle the substation in three stages, starting on September 22.

In response, GTM urgently approached the court on September 25, seeking an ex parte order to temporarily suspend Lindor Ondernemings’ right to act on the previous judgment. The court granted this interim relief, halting any disconnection of the substation until January.

However, on October 28, Lindor Ondernemings successfully challenged the interim order. The court dismissed GTM’s application and set aside the temporary suspension, effectively restoring the landowners’ right to proceed with removing the substation.