COJ to take over Soweto power supply
Eskom and City promises to solve Soweto electricity crisis.
The City of Johannesburg and Eskom is expected to conclude and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by end of this month. This will be a first step towards addressing the ongoing Soweto electricity crisis. Under the MoU, the City will take over assets worth about R4.7billion and debt worth about a R7billion.
This was announced this past weekend following a meeting between Sowetans, President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the City of Johannesburg held at Thokoza Park.
The meeting was part of Ramaphosa’s voter registration drive where residents voiced their frustrations over electricity blackouts which have become a norm across the township. Many parts of Soweto have been without electricity for months and Eskom has not done enough to address the issue.
Under the soon-to-be-signed MoU, the City will take overall consumer debt and assets from Eskom. The power utility is expected “to immediately begin a process to replace all faulty mini-subs in and around Soweto and switch on all the affected customers,” reads a statement from the office of the MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (EISD) Cllr Mpho Moerane.
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Another issue that is expected to be addressed through the MoU is that of blanket switch-off for affected areas. This is where electricity is switched off or not restored for everyone including those who are paying until those who have debts start paying. Under this system by Eskom, parts of Dobsonville, Protea, Pimville, Orlando, and White City have been without electricity for months because Eskom has been waiting for payment before transformers can be replaced.
In a statement, the City’s EISD said, “The City of Johannesburg is the custodian of the database that holds the Soweto residents’ household information and therefore is best positioned to be the electricity distribution entity for the Soweto community. As such, the City of Johannesburg has geared itself to take over electricity distribution from Eskom for the Soweto residents.”
EISD also promised that affected areas in Soweto will be “switched on commencing from the week of September 202021” meaning of the beginning of this week.
In his letter to the nation on Monday morning, President Ramaphosa acknowledged that electricity is currently the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed not just for Soweto but for the whole country.
“Speaking to people in areas in Soweto, it was evident that anger and frustration over having their electricity cut-off could have been avoided had thoroughgoing interactions with communities been embarked upon around issues such as illegal electricity connections, the vandalisation of substations and the benefits of a prepaid. Many people also felt that they were being unfairly penalised because of the non-payment of others,” said Ramaphosa.
With Local Government Elections looming, many Sowetans will be waiting to see if these promises will be fulfilled anytime soon.
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