Eskom’s immediate threat to switch off power to parts of Joburg abated after intervention from the Minister of Electricity and Energy over the City of Joburg’s unpaid R4.9bn bill. JoburgCAN questions how the metro and Eskom ended up in this position.
After a year of first delayed payments and then refusing to pay, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has agreed to pay the October 2024 outstanding Eskom bill, amounting to R1.4 billion of the R4.9 billion invoiced*.
The City’s concession ends months of fighting over power bills and strong indications that the City is in serious financial difficulties.
The dispute has involved e-mailed pleas from Eskom, arbitration, site visits, audits, a court judgment against the City, further court action still underway, an ongoing dispute over billing, and now mediation by Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
Read the rest of JoburgCAN’s press statement here.