Power consumers in the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging) will from this month no longer pay their outstanding power bills to the Municipality, but directly to Eskom.
This follows a court order issued in June 2023, which is now being enforced in full. The order appointed Eskom as the agent responsible for collecting power bills due to the Municipality’s non-payment to the national power utility.
Emfuleni’s outstanding debt to Eskom already amounted to an astronomical R5,9 billion in 2022, after which the Municipality applied to Eskom for a debt-relief programme. The programme is monitored by the National Treasury (NT).
The Municipality failed to comply with the agreement to pay off its historical debt and keep its current power bill up to date, so, Eskom withdrew the offer.
Eskom started executing the High Court’s order last year when around one thousand businesses in Emfuleni were instructed to pay their outstanding power bills directly to Eskom.
The order is now being fully enforced, which means households are included as well.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) foresees major challenges with the payment of power bills to Eskom as residents receive a single bill from Emfuleni and will now have to make their own calculations to determine what amount needs to be paid to Eskom for electricity consumption.
Problems can creep in if account capturing is not done on time or accurately. As a result, households’ power supply may be cut even if their accounts are fully or partially settled.
If Emfuleni was not mismanaged, but run successfully, consumers would have been spared this inconvenience.
Residents are being punished for the ANC government’s incompetence.
The FF Plus will remain in contact with residents to assist with any problems and when the new arrangement fails, the Municipality will be called to account.
