POWER SHUTDOWNS FOR NONPAYMENT
Indebted towns fear Eskom will cut lifeblood
The utility’s power cuts will affect more than 2.5-million residents in 16 municipal councils and threaten economies and businesses
Ventersdorp, Nelspruit and Richmond are among the towns whose residents will be plunged into darkness when Eskom turns off the lights in the North West, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape because of unpaid municipal debt. More than 2.5-million residents in 16 municipal councils will be affected by the utility’s power cuts, which will threaten the economies and businesses of the affected towns. Nelspruit, the administrative seat of Mbombela Local Municipality, has almost 60,000 residents and a thriving agriculture sector. Poultry producer Astral last week warned of an impending catastrophe should Eskom switch off the lights in Lekwa Local Municipality, also in Mpumalanga. Astral’s largest feed milling plant — the biggest on the continent — and its poultry processing operations are located in the municipality and the majority of its broiler farms are in the Standerton area.
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