The City of Johannesburg and its power utility, City Power, have paid Eskom R1.2 billion towards their electricity debt, but still owe the power utility R5.28 billion, as Eskom extended its public consultation process by a further 30 days after saying public participation had slowed following ministerial intervention.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Eskom said the City of Johannesburg and City Power initially owed R5.26 billion in arrears when the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) notice was issued in May.

However, the amount excluded a current account of R1.58 billion that became due on 5 June 2026.

Despite receiving R1.2 billion in payments since the notice was issued, Eskom said the June current account remains unpaid.

As of 11 June 2026, the metro’s total debt stood at R5.28 billion, made up of an overdue current account of R2.7 billion and R2.58 billion still outstanding under

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The Johannesburg Community Action Network (CAN) has called on Eskom, the City of Johannesburg and City Power to publish the terms of any agreement aimed at averting electricity interruptions in Johannesburg, saying residents cannot be expected to participate meaningfully in a public process while key information remains hidden.

The civic organisation said on Friday that public reports of an agreement to resolve City Power’s debt crisis had not been matched by “tangible evidence” that such an agreement exists, what it contains, or whether Eskom’s public participation process on possible supply interruptions has been withdrawn.

Eskom issued a notice in May saying the City of Johannesburg and City Power owed it more than R5.25 billion in arrears, excluding a further R1.58 billion current account payment due in June. The utility said at the time it intended to reduce, interrupt or terminate supply to certain bulk supply points because

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Eskom has removed more than 700,000 households from load reduction, but Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will only be fully cleared in 2027 because of higher risks on their electricity networks.

The power utility said in a statement posted on Monday that 714,513 customers –  about 42% of households targeted under its load-reduction programme, – were no longer affected.  It said 436 feeders had been removed from load reduction against a planned target of 971, reflecting progress of about 45%.

Eskom has not been implemented national load-shedding for 385 consecutive days.

The utility said it plans to end load reduction in seven provinces by October 2026, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to follow in 2027 because of “higher grid risks and bigger challenges”.

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Load reduction is used in high-risk areas to protect transformers and mini-substations

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Power utility Eskom has issued a formal notice of its intention to reduce, interrupt or terminate electricity supply to certain bulk supply points linked to the City of Johannesburg and City Power after the metro’s arrears debt climbed to more than R5.2 billion.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, Eskom said the city and City Power currently owed the utility R5 255 421 994.16 in arrears, excluding a further current account payment of R1 582 093 993.32 due on 5 June 2026.

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“Eskom maintains it simply cannot be acceptable to the city’s residents and all South Africans that COJ/CP is collecting electricity revenue but failing to pay over Eskom’s share,” the utility said.

Eskom said it had spent more than two years engaging with the metro in an effort

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Nine municipalities across South Africa have taken a step towards resolving their electricity debt crisis after adopting council resolutions to sign Distribution Agency Agreements (DAAs) with Eskom following a consultation process initiated earlier this year.

The move comes as Eskom revealed that outstanding municipal debt has ballooned to R111.6 billion nationally, despite repeated interventions by National Treasury and support measures offered by the power utility.

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In a statement issued this week, Eskom said the agreements followed consultations after notices were served in March to 14 municipalities in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA).

“The municipalities were identified for failing to settle electricity accounts for at least 18 months, not complying with the National Treasury municipal debt relief programme, or posing a major financial risk to Eskom,” the utility said.

The nine municipalities are:

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City Power has confirmed that the ongoing power outage at Diepkloof hostel, which sparked protest action on Saturday morning, stems from issues on the Eskom network and an outstanding debt linked to the facility’s account.

The utility explained that the initial fault was reported on Monday, 20 April, with Eskom technicians deployed to the site on Wednesday.

While repairs to faulty cables were completed, Eskom has since isolated supply to the hostel due to non-payment.

The outage has left residents frustrated, with demonstrations escalating into clashes with police as community members demand the restoration of electricity.

City Power says it is engaging with stakeholders to resolve the matter and will provide further updates as progress is made.

Meanwhile, residents of Diepkloof hostel in Soweto have vowed to continue protesting until electricity supply is restored to their area.

The residents clashed with police when their

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Eskom has announced the expansion of its enhanced customer support programme through a flexible, hybrid service model.

In a statement on Monday, the power utility said the new model will introduce scheduled mobile “Hub-on-Wheels” units and community pop-up service points, supported by digital self-service platforms and selected permanent customer service hubs.

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Eskom said its permanent customer service offices will officially reopen from 1 February.

Eskom said the enhanced customer support model is designed to improve access to assistance by taking services directly into communities.

Through mobile hubs, pop-up points, walk-in centres, and digital platforms, customers will be able to log faults, submit service applications, resolve billing issues, and receive in-person support without relying solely on fixed offices.

“This initiative reflects Eskom’s commitment to meeting customers where they are,” said Eskom Distribution

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Power utility Eskom has confirmed that power has been restored in the Kouga, Humansdorp and Sarah Baartman areas after devastating veld fires disrupted electricity and water supply.

In a statement on Friday, Eskom said it had previously overestimated the damage the fires caused to power lines, which contributed to an incorrect initial assessment and the perception that restorations would take longer.

Some areas are still experiencing interruptions, which the utility said it aims to resolve by Saturday.

The fires have left a trail of destruction across farmlands, towns and residential areas despite intensified efforts by firefighters to contain the blazes.

Dry conditions and strong winds have been cited as factors in the rapid spread of the fire across farmlands. The municipality issued a statement on Wednesday, citing deliberate arson as a possible cause, and warning against it.

Kouga Municipality spokesperson Monique Basson, speaking to Inside Metros,

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eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s budget has been trimmed to R70.9 billion, down from the initially proposed R71.3 billion, following tariff adjustments aimed at aligning spending with updated revenue forecasts.

eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba spoke about the revision during a post-budget business breakfast in Durban on Wednesday, emphasizing that the adjustment, though modest, reflects the municipality’s commitment to fiscal discipline without compromising core service delivery in infrastructure, healthcare, and education.

“We fully appreciate the challenges our people face as a result of the difficult economic climate, we were able to make changes to the final budget and reduced our tariffs,” said Xaba.

Following negotiations with Umgeni-uThukela Water—which reduced its tariff increase from 13% to 11%—eThekwini has lowered its proposed water and sanitation tariff hikes.

The domestic water tariff increase was reduced from 15% to 13%, and the business water tariff from 16% to 14%. Sanitation tariffs were also

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Gauteng finance MEC Lebogang Maile has raised concerns regarding the municipal audit outcomes for the 2022/23 financial year. 

Addressing a two-day Local Government Turnaround Summit in Johannesburg, Maile said that out of the 11 municipalities in the province, only seven received unqualified audit opinions.

The summit was opened by provincial cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Jacob Mamabolo, and featured addresses by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and COGTA Deputy Minister Dickson Masemola.

It was also attended by leaders from municipalities across Gauteng, as well as experts from academia and the private sector.

Maile raised particular concerns over the City of Ekurhuleni’s regression from a clean audit to an unqualified opinion, with findings primarily due to non-compliance issues. 

Mogale City and Emfuleni local municipalities, while addressing specific matters that led to prior-year qualifications, encountered new qualification issues, causing them to stagnate with qualified audit opinions.

Merafong City Local

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