Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone may consider possible further legal action against the Madibeng municipality, in North West, after the municipality last week cut power supply to various factories, despite a court order preventing it from doing so.

The tyre production facility, which employs more than 800 people, was shut down between Friday and Monday after the municipality allegedly defied a court interdict preventing it from cutting the factory's power.

Bridgestone was one of the applicants in a court case initiated by the Brits Industrialists Association (BIA) in 2014 challenging the municipality’s electricity tariff increases.

Bridgestone South Africa CEO Gavin Young said the BIA had been successful in obtaining an interim interdict against the municipality and that, until a review is heard, Bridgestone's electricity tariff is the figure determined by the court in the interdict.

He added that Bridgestone had paid all amounts due for its electricity consumption at the tariff set by the court.

Young stated that, by cutting off electricity supply to the members of the BIA, the Madibeng municipality directly violated the conditions of the 2014 court order.

"This cutoff unlawfully prevented us from conducting our business," he noted.

He said Madibeng's alleged unlawful power cutoffs placed livelihoods in jeopardy and had the potential to harm the South African branch’s standing with Bridgestone's Japanese parent company.

“An urgent application for contempt of court was brought by the members of the BIA in the North Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, on Monday. The judge in the matter found in favour of the BIA and issued an order directing the municipality to restore electricity that evening. 

"Now that the plant has been restarted, we will begin to quantify our commercial losses, and our executive team will be taking legal advice on the relief available to us," said Young.