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Dark days ahead for Musina because of outstanding debt

 

Now seems to be a good time for residents of the Musina Municipality to invest in a generator, following Eskom’s announcement that they are going to cut the electricity supply to the area because of the millions of rands in outstanding debt owed to them.

Eskom made their intentions very clear in an advertisement placed in last week’s Zoutpansberger. “Eskom hereby notifies all parties who are likely to be materially and adversely affected by its intention to interrupt bulk supply to Musina Municipality on 6 July 2018 and continuing indefinitely,” Eskom states in the advertisement. They then go on to explain the reason for this drastic step, indicating that the Musina Municipality is currently indebted to them in the amount of R72 736 380 for the bulk supply of electricity, part of which debt has been outstanding and in escalation since May 2014.

Eskom has obviously had enough of waiting for payment, stating that they have a statutory obligation to generate and supply electricity to municipalities on a financially sustainable basis. “Musina Municipality is in breach of its payment obligation to Eskom, which undermines and places in jeopardy Eskom’s ability to continue the national supply of electricity on a financially sustainable basis,” states Eskom.

The embattled supplier argues that, in terms of both the provisions of the Electricity Regulation Act (4 of 2006) and the supply agreement with the Musina Municipality, they are entitled to disconnect the electricity supply of defaulting municipalities, of which the Musina Municipality is one, on account of non-payment of their electricity debt. “In order to protect the national interest in the sustainability of electricity supply, it has become necessary for Eskom to exercise its right to disconnect the supply of electricity to Musina Municipality,” says Eskom.

During the first week after 6 July this year, the electricity supply to the Musina Municipality will be cut from 06:00 until 09:00 and again from 17:00 to 20:30 from Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the power supply will be interrupted from 08:30 to 12:00 and again from 15:00 until 19:00.

This might sound bad for residents, but as from the second week, the electricity cuts will be even worse. From Mondays to Sundays, the electricity supply will be cut daily for a period of 14 hours from 06:00 until 20:00. “Eskom recognises that the indefinite disconnection of electricity supply may cause undue hardship to consumers and members of the community, and may adversely affect the delivery of other services,” Eskom explains. They add that this is why they opted for a regulated interruption of the electricity supply to the municipal area, rather than an outright total disconnection, to allow residents to make alternative arrangements.

So, is there light and the end of the tunnel for residents, meaning is there any possibility that the Musina Municipality will be able to avert this catastrophe? Seemingly yes.

“The municipality assures the community that it will do everything in its power to avoid the power cut and encourages the community to keep their municipal accounts up to date,” said Musina municipal spokesperson Mr Wilson Dzebu on Tuesday. He was responding to a media enquiry from the Zoutpansberger to find out how on earth the Musina Municipality managed to land itself in this precarious situation?

Apparently, several factors contributed to the municipality’s dire position. Dzebu said stagnant revenue streams, constant breakdowns as a result of aging infrastructure, illegal connections and cash-flow problems were the four major factors contributing to the crisis. He added that the municipality would try to remedy the situation by applying stricter credit control measures, re-prioritising the payment of creditors and looking at factors such as cost reduction and containment. “The municipality will bring the account up to date by the time Eskom publishes its final decision,” said Dzebu.

Eskom has warned, however, that notwithstanding the proposed times indicated for interruptions, Eskom reserved the right to disconnect the electricity supply entirely and indefinitely upon 15 days’ notice, should the Musina Municipality’s debt situation not improve. In the meantime, Eskom has invited residents to submit written representations, comments or submissions indicating why they should not proceed with the proposed interruption. The closing date for submissions is 18 June. Submissions should be sent to Ms Rachel Sebola, Eskom Holdings, Private Bag X9477, Polokwane, 0700. They can also be sent by e-mail to [email protected].

 

Date:26 May 2018

By: Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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