Eskom allegedly owes the City of Johannesburg R3.4 billion in overcharges.
The metro municipality revealed this on Tuesday after Eksom approached the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to force City Power to pay its R1 billion debt.
CITY OF JOHANNESBURG HITS BACK AT
The City of Johannesburg said it is of the firm view that the financial obligations of City Power to Eskom versus the financial commitments of Eskom to the City should be treated in the same manner and symmetrically.
City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said that following multiple discussions regarding queries about gross inaccurate billing on bulk purchase invoices, Eskom ignored those issues and rushed to the courts.
Modingoane said, for the record, the municipality pays Eskom about R1 billion for electricity monthly.
“The City remains committed to paying for services rendered and validated as due, as it always has,” she said.
NATIONAL POWER UTILITY ACCUSED OF OVERBILLING
Furthermore, Modingoane said the City of Johannesburg maintains that viewing the current matter within the prevailing context is essential.
She said the municipality has raised concerns with the national energy supplier that it has been overbilled for the service received each month since 2021.
Modingoane explained that City Power validates bulk purchases for completeness and accuracy using its check metering infrastructure at major intake substations.
In instances of potential discrepancies, City Power was able to ascertain and quantify the extent of Eskom overbilling due to this checked metering infrastructure.
“Eskom is notified as the billing authority in line with provisions of relevant NRS standards, including NRS057. More often than not, the national utility ignores these discrepancies brought to their attention.
“Eskom has admitted in some cases that there have been potential billing inaccuracies and has refunded City Power at least R483m over the recent years,” she explained.
In addition, Modingoane said that based on their assessments, there is so much more that is still due to the City, and they have, in their engagement with Eskom two weeks ago, proposed that they bring in an independent electricity expert to give them comfort. The national power utility has been reluctant.
“The City has always been committed to engaging with Eskom with the expectation of finding an amicable resolution that will benefit our residents in the City of Johannesburg and the country at large; hence, the dispute resolution must be expedited.
“As a matter of process, the City will be opposing the court application that Eskom filed because it has no basis in facts and law,” she added.