Joburg buys its way out of an Eskom blackout

The City of Johannesburg says it has settled in full the R5.26-billion in overdue electricity debt it owed Eskom, and that the utility has withdrawn the legal process it began in May that could have led to supply cuts across parts of the metro.

The announcement came on Friday in a joint statement from the department of energy and the city.

According to the statement, Eskom confirmed receipt of the final payment on Friday, settling accumulated overdue debt of R5 255 421 994.16. It said the utility has withdrawn the process it initiated on 17 May under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (Paja), the procedure Eskom must follow before it can reduce or terminate supply.

Eskom issued its notice of intent on 19 May , saying the city and its distributor City Power owed R5.26-billion in arrears on top of a current account of R1.58-billion due on 5 June. It said it had worked with the metro for more than two years on its payment obligations. TechCentral reported at the time that the planned interruptions would have taken effect from 8 July.

The dispute runs back further. According to The Citizen , the city began defaulting in October 2023 and withheld payments on the basis that Eskom had overbilled it by more than R3.4-billion – the “longstanding billing disputes” the joint statement refers to.

Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who brokered an intervention on 26 May , said the outcome showed the effectiveness of the inter-governmental relations model. Joburg mayor Dada Morero called it a milestone in the city’s journey towards financial sustainability, and said the city would maintain current payments, reduce losses from theft and vandalism, and invest in infrastructure.

The amount described as settled is the arrears total as it stood on 17 May. Eskom’s most recent public accounting, on 24 July , put the overdue balance at R3.8-billion – R1.22-billion on the current account and R2.58-billion still outstanding under a settlement agreement made an order of the high court on 7 November 2025. A further current account of R2.64-billion fell due on 3 August. The joint statement does not say whether the court-ordered balance or the August account form part of the settlement.

Eskom has been consistent that it would not sign a new payment arrangement while the November court order remained enforceable, and said in July that nothing in the consultation process waived its rights under existing agreements, court orders or legislation. Its Paja consultation had been extended to 22 August – one day after the announced settlement.

The city’s wider financial position is unchanged by the payment. EWN reported in May that finance minister Enoch Godongwana wrote to Morero putting the city’s total creditors at R25.2-billion against cash and cash equivalents of R3.9-billion. The same analysis found City Power has bought more units of electricity from Eskom than it has sold on to customers every year since its 2019 financial year, losing at least 42% of what it bought.

Morero has put City Power’s losses at about 29%, driven by illegal connections, bypassed meters and ageing infrastructure.