Eskom has said that it would not be implementing power cuts to the Northern Cape municipalities of Ubuntu and Renosterberg that were scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Eskom had initialy announced that it would implement “scheduled bulk power supply interruptions” to defaulting municipalities in Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, and Free State, as part of recouping R10.2-billion in outstanding debts.
Eskom said it implements at least two hours of power cuts in the morning to defaulting municipalities, and two and a half hours in the evening. The arrangement stays in place until a payment plan is agreed upon by both parties.
The power utility said the Renosterberg municipality had come up with an acceptable payment plan for the settlement of their arrears, while the Ubuntu municipality made a payment proposal which was being evaluated by Eskom.
A final decision on the proposal would be made later on Wednesday.
Eskom said the interruption of power supplies over non-payment remained an “agonising decision” and was a “last resort”.
“We will be monitoring the strict adherence to the payment plans and the payment of current accounts of these and other municipalities and any defaults will result in the interruption of supply without further notice,” Eskom said in a statement.
“Municipal customers are encouraged to engage with their supply authorities to get updated information on their municipalities’ arrears situation.”