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Eskom said it had attached the bank account of the Matjhabeng Municipality in Welkom in the Free State for an outstanding debt that had ballooned from R372m in 2014 to R3.4bn currently.
The power utility said in a statement on Sunday it took the drastic measure on Friday in response to the Municipality’s repeated failure to adhere to the payment obligation for the supply of bulk electricity.
“Since 2020 Eskom has only received five payments from the Municipality, amounting to R66.5m against a total bill of R1.5bn for the period.”
Eskom said it was now in the process of establishing the balance of the Municipality’s account and transferring the money to its own account in a bid to recover some of the outstanding debt.
Municipalities around the country owed the power utility R31bn at the end of July, and according to Eskom, the outstanding debt threatens its sustainability.
