State-owned Eskom on Tuesday clarified information reported by local media houses on Monday, that power was to be delivered directly to Harrismith’s 100 biggest power users, bypassing the local Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, owing to its debt to Eskom.

The utility stated in a media release that the Bloemfontein High Court had ordered that a consultative committee be established to assist the municipality with the repayment of its R4-billion debt to Eskom.

Representatives from the Harrismith Business Chamber, Eskom and the municipality serve on the committee, which is chaired by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

One of the initiatives agreed on by the committee was to “technically normalise” the 100 biggest power users’ accounts and for Eskom to collect electricity revenue directly from these customers as payment towards the municipality’s overdue debt.

“No agreement was concluded with the Harrismith Business Chamber in isolation and Eskom did not sideline or bypass the municipality in this process. In fact, the 100 customers will still be supplied by the municipality,” the utility pointed out.

The municipality had paid R2.9-million towards this normalisation – full costs of meters installed. The cost of this project is not split between the municipality and the business chamber, as cited by Fin24 and Rapport articles on Monday, Eskom stated.

“It is, therefore, factually incorrect to say that Eskom will deliver power directly to the 100 biggest power users bypassing the municipality completely. Only the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and the courts can make such a decision.

“Eskom has never cut off electricity to Harrismith for nonpayment because we were interdicted by the courts from doing so as a result of the legal action taken by the business chamber.”

Meanwhile, Eskom also said the statement in the Fin24 and Rapport articles saying that a sewerage plant was damaged as a result of Eskom cutting off electricity in Harrismith was untrue.