A high-level engagement convened by the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Mayor Dada Morero with Eskom executives and City Power has resulted in an agreement aimed at averting a potential electricity crisis in the city.
This follows an Eskom statement last week announcing that it had served the city and City Power with a notice of intention to interrupt power supply at certain pre-determined times of the day due to non-payment of debt.
According to Eskom, the CoJ and City Power owe nearly R5 billion in unpaid bulk electricity supply, plus a further R1.4 billion, which Eskom said will become due and payable at the end of this month.
In response, the City of Johannesburg subsequently called the move by Eskom “unjust, counterproductive, and potentially harmful to… residents and businesses”.
In a statement following the meeting between the Minister and the parties, the Department of Energy and Electricity said the following principles of engagement had been agreed upon by all:
- The respect for inter-governmental framework characterised by an honest and concerted effort to exhaust all internal process.
- The User Pay Principle, where in an event of a dispute, the user is still obligated to pay whilst a resolution process is underway, decoupling the obligation to pay from and a billing query.
- The service provider has an obligation to ensure accurate billing.
- An appreciation that there can be no unilateral implementation of an action or more than one version of what the facts are.
Furthermore, resolutions were reached by the parties in order to resolve the impasse between the two.
“The first resolution is on the appointment of independent technical capacity to evaluate and validate the credibility of the bill levied by Eskom to City Power. In this regard, both parties have agreed that The South African Energy Development Institute will undertake this process.
“The second resolution is on a 14 days turnaround timeframe for the assessment report to be presented to all parties, the set date being 25 November 2024.
"The third resolution is that City Power will pay the current account in order for the notice of intention to interrupt power supply to the City of Johannesburg, issued by Eskom, to be withdrawn.
“Lastly, is the agreement on the importance of the Minister and the Executive Mayor to assure business and households that there is no crisis. The Minister and the Executive Mayor further expressed their appreciation of the willingness of the two parties to work together to ensure the uninterrupted provision of services to the country's economic nerve centre and its residents,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
