The Tshwane metro owes Eskom R635 million for electricity services provided by the company.

This was according to a statement released by Eskom on Thursday, stating that the R635 million owed by the metro was due by January 18, 2022, but that this has not been done.

“The City of Tshwane’s payment patterns have been irregular over the past six months,” the statement read.

“This has contributed negatively to Eskom’s increasing overdue debt, which is more than R43.8 billion.

“Over the past months, we have engaged the City on these irregular payments and the impact they have on Eskom to keep the lights on.”

The power company said it met with mayor Randall Williams and his team on Tuesday, January 25, as part of an effort to recover the money.

The cash-strapped Eskom said the overdue debt has contributed negatively to the liquidity, financial performance and sustainability of the organisation, where Eskom has to borrow to meet its financial commitments.

“As a utility, we are obliged to operate this business sustainably and to consequently take all the appropriate measures to recover money owed to us,” the statement further explained.

“We have initiated the intergovernmental framework, Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and the engagement of the relevant stakeholders to put an end to the increasing debt.”

In December 2020, the metro’s accounts with Eskom were up to date with the hope that the municipality would be part of the local government entities that could generate their own electricity or appoint independent producers.

The power utility said it remained hopeful that the metro would review its current position regarding the appeals made to them by Eskom and honour their payments.

The Tshwane metro was yet to comment at the time of publishing.