Joburg mayor vows uninterrupted power as city grapples with R5bn Eskom debt

City of Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has assured residents that electricity supply will continue despite the metro’s inability to meet payments on a debt to Eskom that exceeds R5 billion.

Meeting with national electricity minister

Morero met with Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Tuesday, joined by stakeholders including City Power, to discuss the municipality’s mounting debt and options to resolve it.

Why the payments fell short

Morero said revenue collection in the metro had dipped to crisis levels over the past few years, and pointed to both technical and non-technical losses of electricity that have affected the city’s revenue and reduced its collection rate. He said these factors contributed to the metro’s failure to honour its payments to Eskom.

Deadline and assurances

Last week, Eskom gave the City of Johannesburg until 8 July to settle the outstanding amount or face the possibility of electricity interruption across the city. After the meeting at City Power headquarters in Johannesburg, both Morero and Ramokgopa signalled a commitment to keep the power on.

“We have, henceforth, agreed to work things out because Johannesburg is a big city, which cannot be allowed to fail. It is the powerhouse of South Africa’s economy and the epicentre of the financial market,” Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told members of the media at City Power headquarters.

Morero likewise reassured residents, saying: “We can assure all our customers that there will be no shut-off in Johannesburg, and this meeting has cleared that situation.”

Next steps

According to the meeting’s participants, the parties agreed to work together to find sustainable solutions to the municipality’s non-payment challenges. Officials said they are committed to resolving non-payment issues with affected municipalities, including the City of Johannesburg.

The discussions focused on cooperation between national and municipal stakeholders to address the financial and operational issues that have reduced revenue collection.