Brown: Don't switch municipalities' lights off yet

Cape Town - Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown instructed Eskom to afford errand municipalities a slight breather to pay their arrears before switching off the lights.

“Turning off the power supply does not only impact on individual ratepayers and municipalities, it has potentially disastrous effects on businesses, and therefore jobs," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Astral Foods warned that millions of chickens will starve if Eskom cuts power supplies to the Lekwa municipality. The poultry company, which is the largest client of Lekwa municipality, said all its bills are up to date.

"“One cannot help feeling sympathetic to those who pay their electricity bills in good faith, only for the payments to be consumed by municipalities with precious little income and resources," said Brown, adding that she hopes to discuss the matter with the minister of finance.

Brown wants Eskom to allow municipalities until month end to clear their outstanding arrears.

The North Gauteng High Court dismissed an application to prevent Eskom from cutting off supply to municipalities who owed the power utility R10.2bn in debt.

Brown said the amount of R10.2bn has a potential to undermine the effort undertaken to restore Eskom back to its sound financial footing.

"The security of future revenue is paramount to Eskom's sustainability. It is critical for all municipalities to institute pre-paid billing to help build a payment culture."

Judge Fabricius, in the AfriForum matter, handed down a judgment in early Janaury, which emphatically reinforced the principle that Eskom has a statutory and regulatory right to disrupt supply in the event of non-payment by a customer.

The court further indicated that it is necessary to appreciate the context in which Eskom operates within the national economy and that this needs to be seen against the background of its constitutional rights and obligations.

Judge Fabricius emphasised that the duties of municipalities to honour their obligations to Eskom are paramount.

Eskom suspended planned supply interruptions some defaulting municipalities after reaching payment agreements with them.

"“It is heart-warming to observe, that even with the relevant laws and mutual agreements which allow Eskom to totally withhold electricity supply, the entity’s leadership was considerate enough to adopt a softer approach of scheduled interruptions during pre-announced hours," Brown.