Eskom is owed well over R102-million in arrears by local authorities, and is also owed almost R13-million by national government, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said on Friday.
In written reply to a question by Manie van Dyk of the Democratic Alliance, she said several amounts were overdue at September 26.
Local authorities, namely municipalities and metros, owed Eskom R102 750 965, she said.
The overdue debt for national departments was R12 672 681.
Regarding provincial authorities, Hogan said that based on Eskom's billing system this information was not readily available as the billing system was not categorised to identify provincial authorities.
On recovering the debt, she said Eskom had a debt recovery plan for various government departments.
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"A reminder is sent to settle accounts after the due date. If the account is not paid on the due date a disconnection notice is sent to the relevant authorities.
"Upon request, a payment arrangement is concluded with the respective authorities," she said.
In case there was no compliance, Eskom entered into a second phase of negotiations.
Eskom engaged with the municipalities as well as various stakeholders such as mayors, MECs, premiers, the cooperative governance and traditional affairs department, the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) and National Treasury to find a solution to improve municipal payment levels.
The cooperative governance and traditional affairs department, Nersa and Eskom had workshops with defaulting municipalities to ensure a workable solution.
"Suspension of supply is used as a last resort to ensure timeous payments from municipalities that have been in arrears for a considerable number of months," Hogan said. - Sapa
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