As far as their Eskom account is concerned, only two out of 19 municipalities in the Free State are debt free.
The rest still owe billions due to their failure to pay the power utility over several years.
The two municipalities are Setsoto, governed by the ANC, and the coalition-run Metsimaholo.
Setsoto services the towns Clocolan, Ficksburg, Marquard and Senekal, while Metsimaholo services Sasolburg, Oranjeville and Deneysville.
The defaulting municipalities’ predicament resurfaced as they continue in their failure to alleviate their overdue accounts in the wake of Eskom’s 18,65% tariff hike, which has been effective from 1 April.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved the hike after the power supplier’s application for a 32% tariff hike for 2023-’24.
Combined, the 17 defaulting municipalities owe Eskom R18 975 589 308 in overdue accounts. The three with the largest amount of debt are: Ngwathe, Maluti-A-Phofung and Matjhabeng – who, on average, consume R200 million’s (97 GWh) worth of energy on a monthly basis.
Eskom laments the bad debt obstructs its ability to fulfil its obligation of supplying power without disruption to consumers, negatively impacts on its ability to pay workers their salaries, and hampers maintenance.
The entity blames chronic load shedding on the defaulting municipalities.
Deputy president Paul Mashatile has said that government acknowledges that debt relief alone will not return Eskom to financial sustainability while municipalities fail to pay.
He was answering questions in parliament on 20 April, relating to the municipal debt to Eskom and water entities, illegal electricity connections, critical economic infrastructure sabotage and animal vaccine shortages.
Mashatile revealed that by the end of 2022, municipalities owed Eskom R56,3 billion, adding that this debt continued to rise.
The treasury has proposed that the state-owned power utility receive R254 billion in debt relief over the next three years, finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his budget speech to parliament in February.
Debt keeps mounting
The overdue accounts of the defaulting Free State municipalities have reached the following amounts:
| Maluti-A-Phofung | R7 334 352 118,91 |
| Matjhabeng | R5 318 230 511,54 |
| Ngwathe | R628 713 562,99 |
| Nketoana | R628 713 562,99 |
| Phumelela | R175 518 904,05 |
| Mafube | R159 346 217,20 |
| Nala | R664 901 833,22 |
| Mantsopa | R298 498 190,98 |
| Masilonyana | R147 687 970,10 |
| Tokologo | R204 553 801,61 |
| Dihlabeng | R862 365 689,30 |
| Moqhaka | R843 592 590,17 |
| Tswelopele | R93 588 945,63 |
| Letsemeng | R145 730 646,79 |
| Mangaung Metro | R385 758 431,68 |
