The Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality on the East Rand could find itself without electricity from 14 April, after Eskom announced plans to disconnect the metro's power supply over unpaid debts totalling R3.4 billion. The state-owned utility published notices on 6 March calling on interested parties to lodge submissions before 6 April, ahead of a final decision scheduled for 14 April.
The metro supplies electricity to key infrastructure including OR Tambo International Airport and is home to numerous large-scale industrial operations. The disconnection threat comes on the heels of a statement issued the day before, in which Eskom signalled its intention to take action against 14 municipalities that have failed to settle their bulk electricity accounts for a period of 18 months. The total municipal debt owed to Eskom has now reached R110 billion.
According to the power utility, repeated efforts to recover the outstanding amount from Ekurhuleni have proved fruitless. A debt settlement process was initiated as early as 2023 after the metro disputed interest levied on its arrears and defaulted on payments. Eskom committed to reassessing the interest once Ekurhuleni began honouring its obligations, and the metro subsequently tabled several repayment proposals — none of which were adhered to.
Eskom has indicated that it now sees only two viable paths forward: switching Ekurhuleni to a prepaid electricity model where supply matches payment, or establishing a direct billing arrangement whereby consumers pay the utility rather than the municipality. The latter option, Eskom noted, could be structured according to its own tariffs rather than municipal rates, potentially resulting in significant savings for end users.
The utility has released a list of supply points under consideration for disconnection. Amanda Qithi, Gauteng spokesperson for Eskom's distribution division, told media that public submissions would assist in identifying critical infrastructure that could be exempted from the planned cut-off.
