Two weeks or total lights out
The municipality said that residents are humbly requested to stay calm and bear with them in this difficult situation.
LYDENBURG – Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM) has less than two weeks to pay Eskom, or else the substations owing Eskom will be completely disconnected from the electrical grid.
Eskom refused a R16 million payment from TCLM last week Friday, and hence two substations in town were disconnected as per schedule on Monday. According to the Eskom notice:
“Notwithstanding the above proposed indicative times for the interruption of electricity supply, Eskom may, upon 15 calendar days’ notice, disconnect electricity entirely and indefinitely should the electricity debt situation not improve.”
TCLM issued a press release on Tuesday in which it said that it is doing everything possible to remedy the situation. “The municipality paid Eskom R16 million as remedial action, however, the payment fell short due to the winter period, and the current account doubled. People consumed more electricity while revenue collection remained the same. The decision to switch off is based solely on the above.”
TCLM said that it is continuously engaging with the power utility to ensure that it reaches an amicable solution regarding this matter. “There is a catch-up payment plan that we presented to Eskom. We are hoping that they will consider Residents are humbly requested to stay calm and bear with them in this difficult situation it and put us to light again. Although the contingency plan has been developed to avoid disruption of water provisions, the municipality can not overemphasise the importance of responsible citizenry, wherein all people are called upon to pay their dues to the institution.”
The municipality said that residents are humbly requested to stay calm and bear with them in this difficult situation. “The municipal authorities are hard at work trying to resolve this unsavoury situation, and will continue to update you about any developments. We apologise to the residents on this predicament caused.
“Let’s make it our business to care for our resources. Let’s pay our debts, fight corruption, fight izinyoka (illegal connections) to keep our lives uninterrupted due to selfish people. Stand up and be among the active citizenry. Residents are urged to understand the difficult situation the municipality finds itself in, and further that the authorities spend their time turning the situation around.”
