MUNICIPALITIES
Eskom halts power cuts as metros vow to pay debt
Des Van Rooyen says problems range from financial to legislative, with councils providing poor residents power at a loss
Power utility Eskom said on Sunday it had suspended scheduled power interruptions to two Mpumalanga municipalities, Govan Mbeki and Thaba Chweu, citing commitments the councils had made to settling their outstanding debt. Eskom has already begun interrupting power supply to two other Mpumalanga municipalities, Emalahleni and Msukaligwa, as a result of unpaid electricity bills. In a statement, group executive for customer services Ayanda Noah said Eskom welcomed the willingness of municipalities to settle their debt and that power interruptions were a last resort. Meanwhile, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) met with SA’s nine provincial premiers, as well as President Jacob Zuma, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday. While council debt to Eskom was not discussed in detail, Salga chairman Parks Tau has previously said the association would escalate the issue to Zuma should interruptions continue. Salga is expected to brief Zuma and premiers on increasing d...
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