Energy News South Africa

Eskom calls to collect as City of Tshwane owes it R635m

The highly indebted Eskom - currently in the red for more than R43.8bn - is ramping up its efforts to recover the debt owed to it and is now calling on South Africa's defaulting municipalities to collect.
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Earlier this week, Eskom met with City of Tshwane executive mayor Randall Williams and his leadership team over the municipality's "irregular payment patterns". According to the utility, the total debt owed by the City of Tshwane as at 25 January was R635m, which was due and payable by 18 January.

"The City of Tshwane's payment patterns have been irregular over the past six months and have contributed negatively to Eskom's increasing debt which is in excess of R43.8bn. Over the past months, we have engaged the city on these irregular payments and the impact they have on Eskom to keep the lights on," the utility shared in a statement on Thursday, 27 January.

"The overdue debt has contributed negatively to the liquidity, financial performance and sustainability of the organisation, where Eskom has to borrow to meet its financial commitments. As a utility, we are obligated to operate this business in a sustainable manner, and to consequently take all the appropriate measures to recover money owed to us," it said.

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter had noted last year that at the end of the utility's financial year in March 2021, municipal debt had reached R39bn.

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