THE City of Tshwane said it has noted that Eskom is threatening to disconnect its electricity due to the delayed payment of its account.
This comes after the power utility released a statement today, 23 August, that it is considering taking action against the municipality.
This step is meant to secure the outstanding payment of R1.6 billion, which was due on 17 August.
Eskom said it had numerous engagements with the municipality to ensure that it pays its account on time, but this has not yielded any results.
“The city’s persistent failure to honour its payments places a huge burden on Eskom to continue providing electricity,” Eskom said.
Eskom indicated that it would continue to apply different approaches to recover money owed to it.
Tshwane Finance MMC Alderman Peter Sutton said: “We acknowledge the R1.6 billion current account and we intend to service this amount.
“Our finance team has consistently been engaging Eskom on a payment plan. We understand our responsibility to service our account.”
He said the amount owed is only four days in arrears and that the outstanding amount only relates to July.
He said all prior debt has been paid.
“We have previously met with Eskom CEO and CFO and discussed the city’s financial challenges, so we note this Eskom statement with disappointment,” said Sutton.
He said the city remains committed to paying what it owes to Eskom.
“This is why we have embarked on our aggressive revenue collection campaign to ensure that we collect enough money to service our creditors like Eskom,” he said.
