Cape Town – Eskom’s failure to ensure a steady power supply was hitting smaller municipalities hard, the DA said on Thursday.
“Eskom power cuts are having a direct impact on economic instruments used to help the poor with basic services,” DA Western Cape spokesperson on human settlement, Matlhodi Maseko, told Fin24.
Revenue from electricity tariffs was used by municipalities to supply the communities with basic services.
According to Maseko major consumers of electricity, like businesses were opting to find alternative sources of power.
Businesses were an important source of revenue as they consumed the most electricity and paid their bills, she said.
“With them off the grid the municipalities lose a great deal of income.”
Maseko said the Western Cape Provincial Parliament was currently engaging with energy regulator Nersa on whether to involve its legal department in connection with directives of tariff structures.
"We are also engaging with DA mayors and deputy mayors to negotiate or come up with the tariff structure that will lessen the burden of municipalities that will be affected the most. We especially want to reduce the burden of electricity tariffs for households in the income group R3500 - R15000, and below."
Eskom was battling with a steady supply of electricity since the beginning of the year, but has since manage to stabilise the grid. On Thursday it was 32 days since South Africa experienced load shedding.
Last Wednesday, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa told MPs that Eskom was being turned around and was on a road to recovery.
In its 2014 “Non-financial census of municipalities” report Stats SA found that more basic services were being extended to municipalities’ constituencies, but fewer of these services are being provided for free.
The Western Cape had the highest percentage of consumers that received free electricity across the country.