Eskom says it will no longer disable bulk electricity connections to three municipalities in the Free State that owed the State-owned energy utility a collective R736-million, following an intervention by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan on Friday.

Eskom announced earlier in the day that it would disconnect electricity supply to the Ngwathe, Dihlabeng and Maluti-a-Phofung local municipalities at midday on Friday, after several extended payment deadlines lapsed without payment of the outstanding fees.

“The Ministers have requested two weeks to find a solution to the problem. We support the Ministers’ call to engage further on the matter as it has serious bearing on Eskom’s financial and operational sustainability.

“As part of this process, we will, in the next two weeks, engage with Free State Premier Ace Magashule and the affected municipalities with the hope that they come up with workable payment plans. The involvement of the Premier gives us hope that the process will move forward in a more positive manner,” Eskom CEO Tshediso Matona said in a statement. 

Eskom published disconnection notices for the three municipalities in June, with the planned disconnections set for August 4, after which Eskom and a Free State delegation – led by the Finance MEC – met to discuss the arrears and pending disconnections.

The team reached an agreement that Eskom would suspend disconnections until the end of August; however, the disconnection notices would remain in effect until the negotiation process was finalised.

The August deadline was extended to the end of September as municipalities struggled to meet the stipulations of and deadlines on agreed actions.

This then led to Eskom giving notice to disconnect the three defaulting municipalities on Friday.

“Eskom has an obligation by law to take effective steps to collect all revenue due to it in order to ensure its operational and financial sustainability,” the parastatal said.