The High Court in Pretoria has dismissed with costs AfriForum’s application to prevent Eskom from cutting off municipalities’ power supply.
AfriForum had argued that Eskom’s decision to impose blackouts on municipalities whose accounts were in arrears‚ would punish businesses and residents for the municipalities’ failures.
Eskom agreed in court on Wednesday to delay blackouts planned for seven Free State and three North West municipalities — which owe about R700 million to the utility — until January 16‚ to give them time to pay their arrears.
Acting Eskom CE Matshela Koko welcomed Thursday’s decision by the High Court.
In a statement issued by the utility after the ruling‚ he said that although Eskom was legally permitted to cut power supply altogether when municipalities were in arrears‚ it had chosen to take a “less invasive approach”‚ with limited power disruptions.
Its original plan was to halt power in the municipialities in question from 6am to 8am and 5pm to 7.30pm‚ Monday to Friday; and from 8.30am to 11am and 3pm to 5.30pm on weekends.
“We didn’t take this path lightly as a company‚ we agonised on this matter endlessly‚” Koko said.
“Besides the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act process‚ with which we fully complied‚ we embarked on a wide community-awareness initiative.”
He also said that Eskom would be in breach of the Public Finance Management Act and its licence conditions if it had not acted to collect the revenue due to it and enforce the conditions of its supply agreements with municipalities.
Eskom said Judge Hans Fabricius had‚ in his ruling‚ “emphasised the context in which Eskom operates in the national economy‚ seen against the background of its constitutional rights and obligations”‚ as well as municipalities’ duties to honour their obligations to Eskom.
Afriforum had not responded to the ruling at the time of publishing.
AfriForum loses court bid to stop Eskom cutting power to non-paying municipalities
The High Court in Pretoria has dismissed with costs AfriForum’s application to prevent Eskom from cutting off municipalities’ power supply.
AfriForum had argued that Eskom’s decision to impose blackouts on municipalities whose accounts were in arrears‚ would punish businesses and residents for the municipalities’ failures.
Eskom agreed in court on Wednesday to delay blackouts planned for seven Free State and three North West municipalities — which owe about R700 million to the utility — until January 16‚ to give them time to pay their arrears.
Acting Eskom CE Matshela Koko welcomed Thursday’s decision by the High Court.
In a statement issued by the utility after the ruling‚ he said that although Eskom was legally permitted to cut power supply altogether when municipalities were in arrears‚ it had chosen to take a “less invasive approach”‚ with limited power disruptions.
Its original plan was to halt power in the municipialities in question from 6am to 8am and 5pm to 7.30pm‚ Monday to Friday; and from 8.30am to 11am and 3pm to 5.30pm on weekends.
“We didn’t take this path lightly as a company‚ we agonised on this matter endlessly‚” Koko said.
“Besides the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act process‚ with which we fully complied‚ we embarked on a wide community-awareness initiative.”
He also said that Eskom would be in breach of the Public Finance Management Act and its licence conditions if it had not acted to collect the revenue due to it and enforce the conditions of its supply agreements with municipalities.
Eskom said Judge Hans Fabricius had‚ in his ruling‚ “emphasised the context in which Eskom operates in the national economy‚ seen against the background of its constitutional rights and obligations”‚ as well as municipalities’ duties to honour their obligations to Eskom.
Afriforum had not responded to the ruling at the time of publishing.
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