KEY POINTS
- Eskom plans to reveal the names of fourteen municipalities that owe a combined R62 billion.
- The utility warns the debt has grown into a risk for the stability of the national electricity grid.
- Eskom says the transparency push aims to spur action after years of stalled repayment efforts.
Eskom has begun preparing a public list of municipalities that owe the power utility billions of rand, a step it believes could stir long-delayed action over what has become one of the most persistent risks to South Africa’s electricity system.
The state-owned utility says fourteen municipalities together owe more than R62 billion, a debt pile that has ballooned over the years as local authorities struggled with poor revenue collection, ageing infrastructure and governance failures.
Eskom argues that the arrears have grown to a point where they now pose a real threat to the broader electricity grid, undermining the progress made in stabilising supply.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the plan to make the names public is not about embarrassment, but about applying pressure on leaders who have repeatedly promised to settle their accounts.
She noted that several municipalities have been in default for years, despite receiving various repayment arrangements from the utility.
Utility Says Transparency May Force Municipal Leaders to Confront Mounting Arrears
Mokwena explained that the intention is to push for meaningful engagement and prevent further escalation of the debt, which she described as unsustainable.
She added that Eskom has exhausted softer interventions, and that publishing the list is expected to prompt conversations between communities, local leaders and provincial governments on how to resolve the stalemate.
Eskom remains hopeful that the move will help create a path towards stricter accountability, improved payment discipline and the recovery of funds it urgently needs to keep the country’s fragile electricity network functioning.
