[LIVE] FullView’s special broadcast on Soweto electricity crisis
When The Lights Go Off | Electricity crisis in Free State municipalities
Earlier this week, Eskom threatened to cut electricity to three municipalities in the Free State until they settled their debt.
The Mangaung Metro owes R149 million. We cross live to our reporter Thabiso Radebe, who is in Bloemfontein.
Eskom makes interim profit of R1.3 billion, warns of another R20 billion loss
Power utility Eskom has posted a modest profit of R1.3 billion in its interim results. But it’s warned of another R20 billion loss for the full year, in March 2020. Releasing the results today, interim CEO Jabu Mabuza said despite all the challenges, there had been some progress.
When The Lights Go Off: Eskom’s huge municipal debt
Eskom’s debt stands at billions of rand. That’s according to Board chairman Jabu Mabuza, who says the struggling power utility is projected to make a R20 billion loss for the 2020 financial year. In Soweto alone, residents are said to owe Eskom as much as R18 billion, with many residents illegally connected.
In an attempt to get to the bottom of Soweto’s culture of non-payment the SABC News is hosting a Town Hall debate at the Protea Glen library.
Mabuza reflects on Soweto’s electricity debt
Eskom’s acting CEO Jabu Mabuza says the company still faces many challenges but progress has been made in some places. He warned of the huge municipal debt that Eskom is absorbing.
Soweto’s outstanding debt alone stands at R16 billion. Mabuza, was speaking at the presentation of interim results in Johannesburg on Thursday. He says the top 20 defaulting municipalities have a payment level of just 44%.
“Which means for every rand they owe us they pay us 44 cents. If they do pay furthermore our debt service obligations largely fall due within the second half of the financial year, putting more pressure on our bottom line and liquidity. It is against this background that while a net profit of R1.3 billion was realised for the period ended 30 September, a R20 billion loss is projected by year end,” says Mabuza.
Power utility Eskom is expecting another R20 billion loss for the full year but has posted a modest profit of R1.3 billion in its interim results.
Eskom announces its interim results | 28 November 2019
Eskom is set to announce its interim results. The utility still faces severe financial challenges and is likely to report another loss in profits. At its integrated results presentation in July this year, the utility announced a net loss after tax of R21 billion.
Soweto residents up in arms over electricity disconnections
Some Soweto residents are up in arms over electricity disconnections. 99% of the country’s biggest township gets its power directly from Eskom. Almost 200 000 households have prepaid meters. Eskom says 60% of these households are guilty of some form of tampering. The power utility is disconnecting them.
