Eskom announced on February 28 that the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) owes it R544m.

The entity said in a statement the electricity debt owed to Eskom by Gauteng municipalities continues to escalate, as more fail to service their Eskom accounts.

It said CoE was among those with increasing debt to the parastatal.

Eskom, however, acknowledged that on February 18, the city paid a partial amount of R530m.

“This amount was a portion of its bulk accounts, which amount to a total of R1 074b that was due to Eskom.

“The amount of R544m remains outstanding, and now Eskom expects the city to pay the overdue amount,” Eskom said.

Eskom warned that failure to pay the overdue amount is in breach of the electricity supply agreement between Eskom and the city.

In response, the city has written to Eskom and urged it to publicly retract its statement.

“The city is disturbed by the statement issued by Eskom and wishes to put it on record that it has not failed to service its account with Eskom,” said CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.

“We believe Eskom’s statement is misrepresentative of the truth and is profoundly unfortunate.”

Eskom said late payments by the CoE have resulted in Eskom charging interest of R86m per year to date.

“To protect the reputation and integrity of CoE, we shall not hesitate to initiate litigation against Eskom over the non-compliance with the provisions of municipal finance legislation,” said Dlamini.

Dlamini said CoE has on multiple occasions disputed Eskom’s tendency to flout legislated financial practices.

“A crucial aspect to the dispute, which was already addressed with Eskom, is the incurring of interest charges of approximately R86m. This amount is strenuously defended.”

He added CoE still believes an amicable conclusion can be reached between itself and Eskom to end the impasse.

“The city believes a healthy working relationship with Eskom is still achievable.”