Nkomazi takes Eskom on about power cuts and ‘overdue account’
The Nkomazi Local Municipality (NLM) has assured residents that there will be no power discontinuations, and demands an official apology from Eskom
MALALANE – The Nkomazi Local Municipality (NLM) has assured residents that there will be no power discontinuations, and demands an official apology from Eskom.
This follows last Thursday’s notice by the service provider, published in local and provincial newspapers, to stop electricity supply for some parts of the Nkomazi area. This was planned to happen on April 11.
According to its notice, it intended to stop the power supply of Malalane and the Mzinti RDP area.
In the notice Eskom alleged that NLM’s account was in arrears of R1 032 340.
However, Ripinga disputed these claims stating that the municipality always made its payments on time. “We always pay Eskom as soon as we receive invoices. It is worrying that at times we get them when Eskom has already cut off the electricity supply. We have had a plethora of meetings with Eskom officials regarding that matter to come to an amicable solution,” Ripinga said.
He continued that as soon as they had found out about the notice, he called Eskom to clarify these claims.
He said, “Nkomazi has no outstanding account with Eskom as all monthly accounts are paid in full. The municipality noted that advert with dismay and quickly addressed Eskom on their oversight. Given this background residents are assured that there will be no power cut.”
Ripinga furthermore explained that the Mzinti area would be affected though. “The Mzinti RPD matter is a separate case. The residents from that area took to the streets some time ago, saying they didn’t want to be serviced by the municipality. They said they wanted Eskom to service them with electricity directly. And we spoke to the provider and reached an agreement, so we don’t owe Eskom. Our account is up to date,” Ripinga said.
