Power utility Eskom says the Sheriff of the Court has successfully attached the Emfuleni municipality’s four bank accounts for Eskom to recover about R8-billion in arrear debt, ensuring that the money collected for electricity is paid directly to the utility.

This follows the municipality’s failure to comply with the requirements of the National Treasury debt relief programme.

As of August 31, Emfuleni owes R8.05-billion for bulk electricity. Emfuleni is among the top three municipalities in debt to Eskom, the utility points out.

The utility emphasises that municipal debt remains one of its biggest challenges.

As at March 31, municipal arrears stood at about R74.4-billion, of which R15.9-billion was incurred in the last financial year.

The attachment of the bank accounts allows Eskom to receive payment for the electricity it supplies, ensuring continued service to the municipality’s customers, Eskom says in a statement.

It stresses that it has exhausted all legal and mediation avenues to secure payment for services rendered to the municipality since 2018.

“Collecting municipal debt is a key focus for Eskom. The company will employ various strategies to recover owed funds, enabling investment in maintaining and strengthening electricity supply, fostering socio-economic growth, and reducing the need for interventions such as loadshedding.

“Eskom cannot financially sustain the electricity debt of the municipality without severely impacting on its own operations and the citizens of the country. The municipality’s failure to pay for bulk electricity compromises Eskom’s financial stability and its ability to provide affordable electricity,” Eskom states.

Following a number of breaches, Treasury in July informed the Emfuleni municipality that it was no longer a beneficiary of the Municipal Finance Management Act Deft Relief programme.