Municipalities owe millions to Eskom but addressing the problem requires dealing with historical issues
A while ago I appeared on a television programme in discussion with a young man from Soweto who had mooted the idea that Soweto residents pay a R200 flat rate for access to electricity.
This little episode brought into some relief the predicament Eskom finds itself in and the issue of municipal payments via billing charges. The debt owed by Soweto residents to Eskom has decreased to R7.5bn in 2021 from R12.8bn last year, but this was only because the power utility wrote off R5.3bn — money it sorely needs to ensure generation, maintenance and transmission of electricity to the country.
But we are now in the throes of elections and many promises are made, often without foundation. According to a statement issued on Friday, October 8, the City of Johannesburg was in the process of signing a power purchase deal with Eskom that would add additional megawatts to the city’s power supply and increase supply to various communities.
The DA’s position on electricity supply in Johannesburg and elsewhere, as represented by Phalatse in the city, reflects a balanced approach, taking several additionally critical factors into consideration. The idea of City Power taking over Eskom supply areas cannot be done unconditionally and the notion needs much interrogation. Under any future solution the national government, as the sole shareholder of Eskom, would need to address historical debt and the inheritance of ageing infrastructure.
What are these principles? They are encapsulated by the stance articulated by the DA in Johannesburg, that those that can afford to pay must pay for their electricity; those who cannot afford to must be ably assisted. Illegal connections must be ended, and poor revenue collection and breakdown of infrastructure turned around.
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