Ramokgopa blames electricity theft and infrastructure tampering for ongoing transformer failures and load reduction in parts of Limpopo.
Municipalities in Limpopo owe Eskom about R1.6 billion.
The debt dates back to last December, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, pictured, told mayors, municipal managers, chief financial officers, councillors, directors and premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba during a South African Local Government Association (Salga) indaba at the weekend.
The debt to Eskom by municipalities nationwide amounts to a staggering R78 billion.
Limpopo owes Eskom R1.6bn
South Africa has a total of 257 councils, 27 of them in Limpopo.
Those owing the most in Limpopo are in the Waterburg district – Modimolle/Mookgophong, Thabazimbi and Bela Bela.
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The three councils, Ramokgopa said, have been approved for a debt relief programmes by the National Treasury.
“Although approved, only Bela Bela has met the debt relief condition. The council has signed an active partnering service level agreement,” he said.
“A similar agreement for Thabazimbi was signed by the previous council, but was not implemented. Other municipalities such as Musina, Makhado and Mogalakwena have made a commitment to adhere to payment.”
Ramokgopa blames electricity theft and infrastructure tampering
However, Ramakgopa seemed concerned about the extent of load reduction in urban and rural areas.
“Illegal connections, meter bypassing and tampering with electricity infrastructure have increased over the years,” he said.
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“These activities continue to cause repeated failures and explosions of Eskom equipment due to overloading, threatening the overall security of the electricity supply.”
In an endeavour to protect Eskom’s assets from failure and explosions, the utility has identified areas with significantly high electricity theft, primarily from residential customers.
These areas, Ramokgopa said, are subjected to load reduction in an effort to contain demand.
R4.3 million spent to replace transformers
In the past 21 months, he said, Eskom has spent R4.3 million to replace transformers.
Salga provincial chair John Mpe appealed to municipalities to pay their debts with Eskom.
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He also urged communities to work with the police and Eskom to report illegal connections.
