Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has revealed that Eskom and City Power have failed to reach an agreement over a longstanding electricity billing dispute.
The city, which owes Eskom over R6-billion, has argued that Eskom was overbilling the municipality.
After a meeting on Monday morning, Ramokgopa confirmed that a technical expert from the South African National Energy Institute would be appointed to help clarify the issues faced by Eskom and City Power.
He said the technical expert will work alongside two technical representatives from Eskom and City Power to assess possible solutions to the challenges faced by the entities.
Assessment report
Considering the urgency of the matter, the technical experts are expected to submit the assessment report by November 25 to allow Eskom and City Power to understand their billing and delayed payment challenges.
He confirmed that billing was the biggest issue, as the city asserts that it is unwilling to pay for overcharges.
“You need an independent technical assessment to reconcile and confirm the billing on the part of Eskom and what City Power claims on their version is the accurate billing,” Ramokgopa said.
“We agree that an independent in this instance is someone who doesn’t have any association with either party.”
Dada Morero, the City of Johannesburg (COJ) mayor, said there was no electricity crisis in the municipality, claiming there was a smooth supply of electricity to residents and businesses.
Matter will be resolved
“All of us acknowledge that Johannesburg has to work; it is an economic hub almost contributing 16% of the GDP [gross domestic product],” said Morero.
“So, it is very important that Johannesburg does work.
“We are excited as the city that City Power and Eskom, through the facilitation by the minister, are able to find each other.
“We will resolve this problem in the next 14 days.”
He asserted that the municipality had at least taken care of the debt issue, so for the time being it would not go to court.
