A stakeholder meeting between the Ngwathe Local Municipality and Eskom was held in Parys on April 3. Municipal Manager Dr F.P Mothamaha, said the purpose of the meeting was to ‘cement the relationship between Eskom and Ngwathe, relook issues of mutual interest including Joint Partnership on Distribution Agency Agreement (DAA), payment of Ngwathe’s account, and systems in place to deal with electricity theft and illegal connections.

Eskom’s presentation on the DAA is a bucket of practical solutions, which the municipality can choose from to partner with the power utility on resolving the electricity challenges within Ngwathe, the municipality said in
their official statement.

The DAA is a long-term contract that municipalities can enter into with Eskom.

Eskom earlier said they are actively working with defaulting Free State municipalities to resolve outstanding debt following an intervention by the Minister of Electricity and Energy (MoEE), Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, on February 17.

The initiative seeks to develop sustainable solutions for municipalities facing electricity-related
financial difficulties.

During an earlier meeting in Bloemfontein, Ramokgopa urged financially distressed municipalities to engage
with Eskom in negotiations and consider signing Active Partnering Agreements that can lead to Distribution Agency Agreement.

This initiative is designed to help municipalities enhance service delivery by leveraging Eskom’s expertise in engineering, revenue collection, and financial management.

Eskom has seen recent DAA’s signed help to curb electricity losses, reduce a municipality’s debt growth rate, and improve both service quality and payment levels.

Through the DAA, Eskom provides various services to strengthen the technical and financial capacity of municipalities, ensuring the sustainability of electricity provision.

These services include skills development and training, meter installation or replacement, and revenue collection on behalf of municipalities.

The Ngwathe municipality after the meeting said it has started to pay Eskom R350 000 daily (Monday to Friday)
as part of reducing the municipality’s Eskom debt while declaring war on electricity theft.

Eskom’s presentation on the DAA will also serve before council, Ngwathe confirmed upon enquiry from the Parys
Gazette.

Notices

Earlier this year, Eskom issued notices regarding the potential disconnection of bulk electricity
supply to several municipalities including Ngwathe.  However, as discussions continue, the planned disconnection of bulk electricity supply remains on hold, Eskom said in an official statement on March 20.

The power utility said it remains committed to working with municipalities to explore all viable solutions before
considering disconnections, which will only be implemented as a last resort.

It was further said that municipal debt remains one of Eskom’s biggest challenges.

“Collecting municipal debt is a key focus for Eskom. The company will employ various strategies to recover owed funds, enabling investment in maintaining and strengthening electricity supply, fostering socio-economic growth,
and reducing the need for interventions like loadshedding,” the statement concluded.